A Fish Out of Water
by J.Alberghini
Summary: WABMLAF, Complete! Chapter 13: The tale is finally coming to an end. Can a bird and a fish find happiness together, or will they be doomed to a life of loneliness forever?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment. 

A Fish Out of Water

" The sun was shining on the sea/ Shining with all its might. /It did its very best to make…"or at least, that was what it said in the book, anyway (1). The sun was shining on the sea, but that was about as accurate as it was going to get. 

"It's still daytime around here," the reader commented aloud. "There's nothing odd about that." He was stretched out on a large rock in the middle of the ocean. In one hand he held a book, a bit old, but in pretty good shape for something he found in a shipwreck; in the other, he was stroking the head of a very happy sea lion. He was very handsome (the man, not the sea lion), with light brown bangs that fell over his face so that it covered one eye; a muscular chest, tan from long hours in the sun; and most distinctive of all, a shiny, emerald green tail. The tail was only seen slightly below the waist, as it was submerged in the cool salt water so that he wouldn't become a half-human, half-fried fish. Already his skin was rather crisp from the sun's heat, since no merman ever thought it fit to invent sun block. In fact, few people in the underwater Sank Kingdom went out of the water at all, a custom that Trowa, as he called himself, found odd. _At home we used to hang out on the surface all the time,_ he remembered. Then he frowned. "But you're not at home anymore," Trowa reminded himself sternly. "Get used to it." But he didn't think he would ever get used to it. He and his sister had only swam there less than a month ago, when their home kingdom had been destroyed. How or why, he didn't know, but Prince Milliardo and his family had been more than willing to take them in as refugees. They were kind to them, he'd be the first to admit that; but it just wasn't the same as home. 

"Triton! Triton!" He could hear his sister Cathy's voice over the sound of the waves, but he stayed put. She would find him on her own. Sure enough, her auburn curls bounced up out of the water in a second. "There you are Triton! I've been looking all over for you! The prince… Triton, what's wrong?"

Her brother was glaring at her furiously. "I told you never to call me that again," he growled. "My name is Trowa Barton now."

Catherine looked puzzled for a moment; then she frowned. "Oh, right, I forgot. _Trowa:_ A different name for your completely different personality. Honestly, Tri- er, Trowa, this is really ridiculous. I can't believe you- Ah!" Her criticism was cut off as her beloved brother dunked her head in the water. It didn't do much, being she was a mermaid and all, but it made him feel better just the same. She resurfaced with a big splash, surprising the poor sea lions and making them scatter. Only one animal stayed: a seagull that had just landed a minute ago and was now shaking out his feathers like a dog. If birds could give people dirty looks, he would surely be giving her one. Instead, he pecked at Trowa's arm to show his irritation. 

"You're such a pain," Cathy complained. "I just have one question for you." Trowa picked up his disgruntled friend and started to smooth out his feathers. "Why?"

"Because it makes me forget," Trowa said, so quietly that the bird in his arms could barely hear him. Catherine's face froze with shock. She hadn't expected an answer. Trowa rarely shared his feelings to begin with, but even less frequently now. He'd gotten a reputation for being secretive and antisocial, so much so that Catherine herself started to believe it. He'd changed from the happy boy he was a few weeks ago. Trowa had grown up in a horrible way, and she'd never expected he'd talk about it, even with her. 

"I'm sorry," she said softly, putting her hand in his. "I won't call you that again."

"It's not your fault," he replied, squeezing her hand as a sign of forgiveness. "I'll be okay. Someday."

Catherine seemed doubtful. "You're always out here, Trowa," she commented, trying to push his bangs out of his face like she often did. Like always, they fell back into place. "These people are really nice. They want to be your friends, if you'll give them a chance. You can't spend the rest of your life up here with all these animals forever." 

"Of course, I can," Trowa said. Now dry, the seagull flew upon his shoulder and picked up where Cathy had left off, but with his beak. "These guys are all the friends I need." The bird squawked through a mouthful of hair, as if to agree. 

Catherine laughed and held out her hand to the creature. It stopped what it was doing, clamped its beak on her finger as payment for what she did before, and resumed its grooming. "Ouch! Stupid animal," she grunted. She gave it a dirty look, but it ignored her. Now it was Trowa's turn to laugh, or, better said, chuckle silently to himself. She still knew though, and smacked him on the arm. "Seriously, though, there are a lot of cool people in the Sanc Kingdom." A grin started to creep up on her face. "And a lot of pretty mermaids," she added teasingly. 

Trowa started, pitching the poor animal into the air with only a piece of bang to hold onto. It flapped its wings rapidly, to keep itself from plummeting tail-first into the water. "Mermaids!" he sputtered. Trowa turned a shade of green the color of his tail. "Wh-why would I care about that?"

Catherine rolled her eyes. "You're almost a man now, you should be thinking of these things. A lot of the girls think you're cute, though, grant it, really unfriendly. But they can dismiss that as shyness. What about the princess? The prince might betroth you to her, as an alliance between our kingdoms (Once we return to ours, of course, which we will). In fact…" Something struck her and she remembered why she was looking for him in the first place. "Speaking of which, the prince wants to see you right away, and I think it might have something to do with her."

"And it concerns me, why?" he asked stubbornly. The princess was a kind woman, and she was beautiful, any merman would agree with that, with long golden hair and eyes the color of the ocean. But beauty and kindness only went so far. They weren't enough to make Trowa fall in love with her. In fact, he refused to do it with anyone, whether a puffy flounder or a beautiful princess like Relena Peacecraft. Nevertheless, an order was an order. He dove into the depths of the ocean after his sister to the coral reef they called home. 

The Sank Kingdom was a large reef, spanning 100 acres, 20 leagues under the sea. It was nicknamed "The Rainbow of the Ocean" with good reason. Schools of brightly colored fish traveled on after another in bands of blues and reds and yellow. Oysters lined the floor, displaying their insides invitingly, and then snapping them shut when one tried to get a closer look. A large amount of lobsters, crabs and other shellfish were kept in stock nearby, as they were popular meals for merfolk. Closer to the reef were various plants and algae, and of course, seaweed was everywhere. It was so abundant in fact that many merpeople became rich thinking up ways to use it, which included making bracelets and other jewelry, hair ornaments, and most importantly, keeping the seashells that served as the mermaid's only source of covering on the chest area. Seaweed came in many different varieties and colors as well, adding to the multiple colors on a sea green background. 

The royal palace was coral red, the color most associated with a reef. But it didn't just resemble the reef; it was the reef. Over centuries, erosion and construction had turned the habitat for fish into the habitat for the Sank Royal Family, currently the House of Peacecraft. Towers of coral rose up almost to the surface of the ocean. No moat could protect this castle, of course, but a field of seaweed and the fish surrounding it (who were made up of royal guards as well as normal residents) provided a perfect camouflage to ward off outside invaders. Not that it was needed, for, as the name of the royal family implied, the kingdom was a pacifist nation and no other mercountry dared to attack it. And there were many other countries, as Trowa and Cathy proved, though many leagues away. Still, Prince Milliardo's ancestors were very paranoid people and their castle was as secure as any. Too secure, according to Princess Relena, who often chided her brother about his obsession with safety. "It's so dull over here. Who would want to attack us?" she'd complained once when she was in a less than cheerful mood. Though normally she had a very friendly disposition (or so Trowa had been told), she'd been rather moody of late, complaining about her home one minute, daydreaming happily the next, and frequently disappearing for hours at a time. And it was just that type of behavior Prince Milliardo wanted to discuss.

"The princess is gone," he announced the moment they came in, not pausing to greet them, or even allow them to kneel (well, as best as one with a tail could, at any rate). 

Cathy's face fell and Trowa rolled his eyes. "Forgive me your majesty," Trowa spoke up boldly. "But I'm sure you are mistaken. She's done this a number of times, and she's always turned up. She probably-"  
"No." The prince shook his head firmly. "If it were just like that, I wouldn't be so worried. But she's been gone for two days already. She was last seen the night before last and then she disappeared. There's been no sign of her since." Cathy gasped and grabbed her brother's hand for reassurance. Though they didn't know each other for that long, Relena had become her friend. The idea that something might've happened to her was horrifying indeed. 

"And we've lost so many friends already," she said sadly. Trowa squeezed her hand, and she knew he'd been thinking along similar lines. 

Milliardo nodded sympathetically, then continued. "The only clue we have to where she could be is this." He drew something out of a pouch next to his throne. Now was Trowa's turn to be surprised. It was a feather, as pure white as clean snow, but too large to belong to his seagull friend, he was sure. He reached out to examine it more closely and the prince gave it to him. "I was hoping that, being as you are from another land, and are familiar with animals, you would recognize this. None of us have ever seen it before."

Trowa shook his head apologetically. "No, sire, I've never seen the likes of it before. But there are many birds that fly over the surface that I've never seen. Perhaps it belongs to one of those." 

"But why would they come here?" Cathy wondered. "Did they get lost?" In other circumstances, she would have said it to be funny, but she was dead serious at that moment. 

"I don't know. There's one way that we could find out though." Milliardo's expression was grave, and Trowa felt his heartbeat speed up. "There are a people to the east called the Avians. Bird people, if you will. Half mortal, half magic, like us. As we rule the sea, they rule the air and all the creatures that live there. If anyone would know whom that feather belongs to and where Relena may be, they would."

Trowa nodded slowly, finally understanding the reason he was summoned. "I see, your majesty. You want me to find these people, do you not, and bring your sister back safely?"

"What?" Cathy erupted when she saw Milliardo nod. "All by yourself? But it's dangerous out there! You don't know where you're going," she sputtered. She turned to her ruler. "You can't possibly let him go all alone."

The prince shook his head. "I'm afraid I have no choice. Not many of our people are willing to go to the surface. They're too frightened. Wufei would go, but he knows our area better than you do, and I need him to lead the underwater search party. There's no one else I could send. Besides, Trowa spends a lot of time with the animals of the surface. They could help him." 

"I understand, sire," Trowa said calmly, but Catherine wasn't finished. 

"No one else? What about me? Or Lady Noin," she mentioned, meaning his spouse, "or Sally? We're all Relena's friends, we'd accompany him. Just because we're women doesn't mean that we're useless."

Prince Milliardo smiled slightly, in spite of his grief. Then he frowned. "I know that. But the eggs will hatch any day now, and Noin must stay behind. And Sally's medical knowledge has no rival; she's needed here. Besides, she wouldn't leave when Wufei is doing something potentially dangerous. And while I don't doubt you, one of you has to stay if you're going to restore your kingdom. Your bravery is certainly commendable, but I've noticed that you have, how do I put this without hurting your feelings [Trowa bit back a laugh], a bit of a temper and not quite the patience with animals as your brother does. You might scare them away."

"Why of all the most untrue things a person could say- Ouch!" She glared at her brother who'd just squeezed the finger one of his pets had bitten that morning. Cathy sighed. "All right," she grumbled. "Maybe you have a small point. Fine, have it your way. I'll stay. But I won't be happy about it." She stalked out of the throne room angrily.

Trowa bowed. "I pity you, your majesty," he said and left quickly. The monarch groaned. 

"Why did this have to happen?" he lamented, speaking about more than just Catherine's behavior.

He felt a gentle touch on his arm. "It's not your fault, dear." Lucrezia Noin, his wife, reassured him, coming out from behind the throne, where she had heard almost the entire conversation. "There was nothing more you could do, Zechs," she said, using her private name for him. 

Zechs frowned. "Really? I could think of a few. I should've taken care of her better, or I should've given her more freedom. And that's only _if_ she ran away, like we thought. What if she didn't? What if she was kidnapped? There was something I didn't tell Trowa."

Noin gaped at him in alarm. "What? You never said anything about this to me before."

He shook his head. "I didn't want to worry you, but there's a chance…" His voice broke. 

"Tell me," the merwoman commanded. 

"I know more about the Avians than I let on. I was friends with one long ago, Treize Kushrenada, back when I used to visit the surface all the time. He was the prince of their people, though I don't know what happened to him now. That was decades and decades ago." Though the prince only looked like a young man in his twenties, he was nearly a century old. They were not immortal, but the merfolk did live for a very long time. "We were close, but my father found out about it and forbid us to play together. The Avians are great warriors, you see, and my father feared they might attack us to dominate the ocean. I never saw Treize after that, and Relena was only a baby, so she never met him. Father was very adamant that she never would, and tried to keep us as close by as he could. That's why so few people go to the surface now. I imagine he made up some tale to frighten them away, and if they didn't go, he figured we wouldn't. I never saw the harm in it, but I respected his wishes just the same. But I never told Relena, so if she did visit the surface, she might not have been prepared."

Noin looked horrified. "So you think one of them might have hurt her? But how could they have gotten here? And why would they want Relena?"  
Zechs shrugged. "Possibly, Treize may have changed since I last saw him, or an entirely different person could be the ruler now. Some of them can swim, though I don't know if this deep, but their technology was pretty advanced. They could have found away. As to your last question, well, I really don't know. All we can do is hope that Trowa will find the answers we seek and bring my sister home."

* * * * * *

"You're really going by yourself?" Catherine pouted, stopping her pacing for a moment. She studied her brother carefully, searching for any sign that he might yield to her, though their prince did not. But she found none. 

"Yes," he replied testily. "I can handle it." He resumed his packing. As he wore no clothing, and merfolk could easily forge for supplies as long as they were near water, he only brought a few things: a couple of books wrapped in oilskins (in case he got bored, which seemed unlikely), some pearls for bribes, and a jewel encrusted dagger that he found in another shipwreck. He hoped he wouldn't need the last item, but better safe than sorry. 

"But why can't I…" Catherine began to speak, and try to persuade him again, but he cut her off. 

"No!" he said sharply. He'd never sounded so harsh before, and his tone frightened his sister into silence. "I won't lose another person I love. You're staying here, and that's final."

Catherine was stunned, and immediately guilty. "Triton, I…" he shook his head. 

"You don't have to apologize. Just keep safe, that's all I ask of you." He kissed her cheek briefly and locking the door behind him, set out on his journey, all alone. 

1 "The Walrus and the Carpenter," Louis Carroll from Through the Looking Glass


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me, except on VHS and DVD. If you sue me, that is all I have, so please don't take it.

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter 2

When Trowa left home, it was already night; and the sea was more crowded than usual. He weaved through the sleeping figures in their waterbeds. After dodging one more sleeping shark, he was there. The surface looked so different from how it did in the daylight. Except for a few stars, the world was pitch black. Trowa could barely make out his hand in front of his face. There was no moon that night, but he'd known that before, as it was the source of illumination for the sea, as well as for the earth. He groped his way through the darkness, trying to find any bit of land to sleep on. His hand touched cold stone and he pulled himself up on the very rock he'd lounged on that morning. It was completely deserted; the sea lions had someplace else to sleep that night, and all of the other animals had gone to their own homes. Or so he thought. He rested his head on a soft pile of straw, intending to wait there until the morning, when some of his animal friends would arrive. He'd nearly drifted off already when he was roused by a shrill cry. It was no ordinary straw that he'd tried to sleep on, but a makeshift and very poorly made nest (This is why the females usually do it.) belonging to none other than the sweet but excitable seagull who'd nearly bit Catherine's finger off that very afternoon. 

"SQUAAAAAAA!" The horrible sound jerked Trowa awake. 

"Sorry," he said groggily. Then he came to his senses as a flurry of wings beat in his face. Wha- Are you okay?" he asked his feathered friend. The bird squawked in a scolding way. "I'm sorry," Trowa repeated, truly guilty for upsetting the poor animal, who had suffered enough trauma that day (and more than Trowa knew). "I didn't see you there, it's really dark out here."

The bird looked away for a moment and turned up its beak haughtily. But Prince Milliardo didn't say that Trowa had a way with animals for no reason. He reached out and tickled the creature, gently at first, then more vigorously. It couldn't stay mad for very long after that. Its eyes were tearing, as if it was laughing, and it fell on its back, kicking its legs in the air. Its reaction was far more human than animal, and perhaps it was at that moment, Trowa started referring to the bird as a "He", instead of an "It." In any case, it worked, and Trowa was soon forgiven. As a gesture of goodwill, he scooted over to let Trowa rest his head in his nest. The merman did so gladly, but not without putting in another request first. 

"Do you know where this came from?" Trowa asked, taking the feather out of his bag. The bird cawed with excitement and began flying around in a circle, like a dog chasing his tail. When he was finally satisfied that nothing important was missing, he calmed down for a second, only to start again. It was as if he was having a panic attack; and Trowa had to splash some water on his face to calm him down. He did, and collapsed in his nest. 

"Easy, easy. Does that mean that you do know where it came from?" Trowa wondered, not expecting any reply. So he was surprised when the bird moved his head up and down. "Was that a yes?" It nodded again. "Can you help me then? I'm trying to find these bird people, so they can tell me whose it is. I really need to know; you see, the princess is missing…" At this, the bird got up again and started speaking in what even his own kind would consider gibberish. 

"What's the matter? It's all right, you can tell me," Trowa said soothingly (which really wasn't a true statement, as he wouldn't understand him if he did). He offered his arms to the bird, but he refused. Instead he flew in a dizzy circle and then landed in the water with a splash. 

"Careful," Trowa began, but he was now doing something else. With very un-seagull like behavior, the bird, his body half in the water, began swimming backwards, with one wing to his chest. He pulled himself up onto the rock, laid flat on his back and started to gag. Trowa reached out to try and help him, but he popped back up in a second, pressing his wings to his chest with his eyes round and bulging. Then he began walking, teetering and tottering like a drunken man. Suddenly he was flying again and coming in for another landing. He quickly moved to another section, jumped into the air and screamed as best as a bird could, with his wings on his breast. Trowa gazed at him in wonder throughout the scene, trying to comprehend what exactly he was telling him. 

"If I were you, I wouldn't go into acting," Trowa said solemnly. The bird glared at him, done with the theatrics (or hysterics, whichever one), and trying to figure out if he was serious or not. Probably not, Trowa was much more friendly with animals than with people; and thus more likely to make jokes. Going back to the earlier topic, he asked, "So you can bring me there?" 

The bird nodded in confirmation, seeming disappointed that his new companion wasn't very good at charades. Tired, he fell back into his nest, leaving room for Trowa. This time, the youth took it gladly, and after briefly wondering what his elder sibling was up to, soon fell into a deep sleep next to his feathered friend.

* * * * * *

It took about five or six hours after her brother's departure, when the dawn was just peeking over the edge of the water, for Catherine to realize that her means of exit was blocked. A person would think that, after such a sincere, albeit brief, speech, Catherine would have no desire to follow after her brother and would respect his wishes. That person obviously didn't know Catherine very well. Fortunately, Trowa did. He'd not only sealed the door to their cave with a stone as he normally would, but also barricaded it with various pieces of debris and driftwood that he'd found lying around and thought useful enough to save. Good fortune had made Cathy too tired to set out until morning; and the neighbors, for the most part, were spared of being awoken by the clatter she made while trying to get out. 

Their next door neighbor and healer, the previously mentioned Sally Po, was the one to reply to her cries of distress. She had left her home early that morning to bring food and medicine to her husband and his search party. Wufei was awfully strict, and she knew that if she didn't get there early enough, he would be gone already. Still, there was always a time to help a friend in need, she liked to say. And quickly and efficiently, her raging friend was freed and in need of a cup of soothing, salty tea. 

After Catherine had told her the story (most of which Sally had already heard from her husband) she said, "If he thinks I'm going to stay home and knit while he's off gallivanting, he's got another think coming. We have to stick together." 

Sally patted her hand comfortingly and gave her a cup. "Drink this, it'll make you feel better," she commanded. Catherine obeyed her concerned friend/serious doctor without protest. 

"No way am I g-going to- Ah!" Catherine yawned and slumped down in her seat, fast asleep. 

Sally clucked her tongue apologetically. "I'm sorry, Cathy, but Trowa would never forgive me if I let something happen to you." She took out a little packed from her medical bag, simply labeled "Sleeping Draught". "Who knew this sample I got would work?" she asked rhetorically, sounding impressed. She tucked her friend in her bed and left her to sleep, safe, snug and imprisoned once again. 

* * * * * *

Trowa was stirred awake the next morning by the blazing sun on his back and an incessant pecking at his cheek. Like a normal (present day) mortal would smack his alarm clock shut, so he did his own, much to the gull's displeasure. He apologized hurriedly, saying it was a reflex. 

"I do it to my sister all the time," he said, half-joking, but the bird wasn't at all convinced. As punishment, he began what would become a daily grooming ritual: trying to fix Trowa's hair. Trowa slapped at him again. 

"Such a sensitive little creature," he commented, and was rewarded by a bite on the finger. "Ow, I said I was sorry." Once that battle was over, with a lot of screaming from the animal and a lot of complaining from Trowa, they went out in search of breakfast.

In this endeavor, the seagull turned out to be a most useful companion indeed. In only two shakes of a fish tail (that was a mer-saying for very fast), he was away and back, bringing with him two juicy crabs. Trowa held out his hands to help crack them, but the bird missed, or did he? When Trowa went to examine his breakfast, the shells were in two even halves each, with the legs scattered about around them. With a quick word of praise, Trowa dug in, suddenly starving. His companion did the same. Once those were done, he flew to get second helpings. 

Feeling less savage, Trowa took time during the second course to examine the beast, if you'll pardon my use of the term (It gets so tiring referring to him as "The Bird" all the time.), since he hadn't gotten a chance the day before. Though he visited frequently, his calls were too short for them to fully bond. Like humans, or mermen, Trowa thought that each animal had his own distinctive characteristics; no one looked the same as the other. But this was the strangest difference he had ever seen. As he was being inspected, the bird stared at Trowa with round pale blue eyes. It was a rare color even for a human, but for a seagull it was almost unheard of. 

"How'd that happen, little guy?" Trowa asked softly. The bird moved his upper body up and down in the semblance of a shrug. Trowa smiled. "Pretty bird," he cooed, making the animal hide his beak in his wings, as if he were embarrassed. 

After they'd filled their bellies to the brim, it was finally time to set out on their quest. With a brief glance at his new home, and an even longer one in the direction of the old one he couldn't see, Trowa swam off in the opposite direction, east, with the seagull flying overhead. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai and Sunrise Entertainment.

Author's note: I'd just like to thank a brief moment to thank the one person who reviewed this fic. Your feedback is much appreciated!

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter 3

Sally's "sample," as she called it was more potent than the physician had originally imagined it would be. Catherine slept well into the evening, and finally stirred at midnight, angrier than ever. This time, however, she found she had a guard. Lady Noin was sitting at their kitchen table, shoveling one crab cake into her mouth after another. She smiled cheerfully at Catherine and offered one to her, but the mermaid declined, the side effects from the potion making her nauseous and only adding to her grouchiness. But she refrained from saying anything, lest she excite the merwoman in her current state. Although the merpeople reproduced by lying eggs (which hatched tadpoles that turned into merbabies), there were still similar characteristics between expecting mermothers and mortal ones. Noin had that pretty, peculiar glow of one awaiting a child (though she had laid many, chances are only one would survive) as well as her eating habits. She also had the mood swings; and Lucrezia Noin was always a dangerous woman to cross, even out of the breeding season. So Catherine simply sat across from her and accepted another cup of tea to soothe her aching stomach. 

Noin licked the last few crumbs off of her fingers, then said kindly, "I know it must be hard for you, Catherine, but you did the right thing letting him go."

Cathy frowned. "Sending my brother into possible danger all alone is the right thing to do? What ocean are you from?" she snapped, before she remembered to whom she was speaking. She'd be no good to Trowa with her head chopped off. "Begging your pardon, your highness." 

Noin simply waved her off, not insulted. She knew that if Zechs had gone, she would've behaved in the same way. "No matter. I understand. I came here because I figured you'd want an update on what's happening."

Catherine nodded eagerly, taking a sip of tea as she did so. "Blech! What's in this? It's disgusting!"

Noin shrugged. "It's Sally's recipe," she said, by way of explanation. "She said to make sure that you drink it." Catherine made a face, but it made sense. Sally's medicines were famous for tasting nasty, so she resigned herself to drink it, conveniently forgetting the last time she had Sally's tea. 

"Anyway," her friend continued, "according to Wufei's messenger, who came back this afternoon, they haven't found any trace of her. They're going to stay out there until tomorrow evening, then come home. The prince has sent emissaries to other kingdoms to ask for their assistance, but they haven't had any luck either. I'm afraid your brother is our only hope." Noin sighed wistfully, and Cathy patted her hand. She knew how close the woman was with the princess. They were almost like real sisters, not just sisters-in-law. The fact that she was gone must have been hurting her terribly, to state the obvious.

"Don't worry. Trowa _and I_ will find her," Cathy assured her. She rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Once I get there, that is. Hmm, I'm tired. I'm going back to bed, I'll leave tomorrow." She plopped back into her waterbed and immediately fell into a deep slumber. 

Noin chuckled. "I guess Sally was right about that stuff wearing off. Good thing she made me bring a higher dosage. You'll be sleeping like a baby for the next day or so. " Kissing her forehead in a maternal way, she left her friend to doze, undisturbed and out of the way for the time being. 

* * * * * *

"AHHH!" Trowa let out a sigh of pleasure. "If we weren't in such a hurry, this would be the life, eh?" He was lying on his back, his tail propelling him across the water as he digested another fabulous meal, courtesy of his new chef. After Cathy's burnt grilled seaweed sandwiches and overly salty Split Sea soups (That's saying a lot for food eaten by people who drank ocean water.), it was a pleasant change. The cook in question (hunter would really be a more appropriate term) floated beside him, his little feet paddling rapidly every so often to pick up speed and remain next to his companion. Though the warnings about swimming directly after eating were just old merwives tales, both felt that they needed a well-deserved break after traveling nonstop all morning. Or rather, Trowa did, and the bird made no protest. They went on this way for quite some time, with Trowa occasionally reading passages aloud from his book. It would've been pleasant, but for the looming fear of danger behind their carefree masks. Trowa, of course, had logic behind his fears: if Princess Relena were kidnapped, her captors wouldn't wait for her rescuer to come. But for the bird, who had no relationship with the princess whatsoever (so far as Trowa knew) and indeed more knowledge about what he was getting into, something still troubled him. He fretted, Trowa determined, and if he had them, he'd be wringing his hands. What the matter was, Trowa didn't know, and even if the seagull could talk, he couldn't tell him. The only thing he knew as that he had a gut feeling something was wrong. 

"Don't worry," Trowa reassured him, stretching out his hand to stroke the bird's feathered head. "I'm sure that whatever it is, we'll be fine." The seagull jumped up onto his chest and snuggled there, perhaps to show that he trusted his friend's judgement, or maybe that he felt safe in his presence. But his body was still tense, and Trowa wanted to distract him, if not reassure him. 

"Hey, look," he exclaimed, pointing towards the sky. A cloud of white figures floated above them. "Are any of those your friends?"

The seagull looked up with interest to see tens, perhaps even a hundred of his kind flying through the air. The birds called to him in greeting and he responded, but made no move to join them. Here was another difference, Trowa noticed. Most animals jumped at the chance to be with their own species. This one, though, sat quietly like a dog who was unwilling to leave his master. Trowa frowned thoughtfully, but he wasn't disappointed. 

"You are a strange creature, little one," he mused out loud. "Sometimes you act almost… human." He laughed out loud. It was one of the few times he had ever done so, not chuckle to himself but really laugh, because someone made him happy by just being him or herself. Only one other person could make him do that, and it wasn't Cathy, as much as he loved his sister. If he thought about it, the realization would have quickly sobered him, but at the moment he was too distracted by the bird's excited reaction to his comment. He flew up and down as if he were jumping for joy. It seemed that Trowa had said something dreadfully important, but the merman only thought he was laughing at that ridiculous statement. 

"Oh, are you? Are you like the prince in this fairy tale," he pointed to an illustration in one of his books, of a young maiden kissing a frog, "who was turned into an animal by an evil witch and must be kissed to return to normal form, is that it?" The seagull continued bouncing until that last point and stopped dead in the air. He plopped back on Trowa's stomach, as if he'd been stunned. But his friend took no notice of the odd expression that had crossed his face. He simply picked him up and kissed him on the forehead. The bird didn't turn into a prince, but if he had, he surely would have blushed. Instead he just ducked his head under the water bashfully, pretending to look for more food. 

"But," Trowa sighed dramatically, "I suppose we would need a princess for that, so we should ask Princess Relena if we find h-Hey, where are you going?" The embarrassed creature had flown the coop, so to speak, but he paused and beckoned Trowa to follow, as if challenging him to a race. He took the challenge, feeling well rested and in the mood for some speed. He chased the animal to a bend (They were traveling along the coastline.) until he could no longer see him. Trowa stopped and floated a bit, calling to him, "You got a head start, that's all," he teased good-naturedly. "Next time, I'll beat you." He waited for a moment, but there was no answer. Feeling that his friend was just playing a trick on him, he pressed on, only to bump into a huge white shape looming in the shadows like the fear that Trowa and his companion had tried for so long to repress. 

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me. See below for the references that led to the making of this chapter.

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter 4

"Hey!" Trowa shouted, cursing himself for not giving the bird a name, "Little guy! Whatever you want to be called. Where'd you go?" Trowa shivered. Something really was wrong, he could sense it now. But his friend was in danger, so he pressed on. He dove under the water to increase his speed and to assure himself that his friend hadn't drowned. Soon he almost bumped into a huge white shape frozen like a statue in the water. 

"What is this, a mountain?" he wondered out loud. Trowa supposed that that could have been a possibility; there were lots of mountains near his home, bigger than this one. He swam around it in circles, trying to figure out what on earth it could be, and came face to face with a gigantic eye, bigger than the size of his own head. It blinked at him and Trowa felt something poking him in the back. It felt rubbery and soft. He turned around slowly. A long tentacle, belonging to the thing that he thought was a mountain was right behind him. He jerked out of the way before it could wind itself around his middle, only to run into another one. He dodged it and broke through the water to the surface.

"Squeak." Trowa heard a faint sound, almost like a little mouse. But he would recognize the voice anywhere. It was the seagull, and he hadn't been quite as lucky as Trowa had. He was squeezed tightly by another tentacle, which was so large, only the bird's beak could be seen. Trowa saw its mouth move, opening and closing, to get whatever bit of oxygen he still could fit into his lungs. The merman knew he had to act quickly, or he would surely suffocate. In a not so brilliant move, he picked up an empty mussel shell that had just hit him on the tail and hurled it at the creature. It responded by lashing out with three more tentacles. Trowa ducked and dived, writhed and wiggled to avoid each one. 

"So many arms, what are you, an octopus?" The description certainly matched, except he hadn't heard of any octopuses with appetites for seagulls, or mermen for that matter.

"Quack," the bird gasped out faintly. If it had any faults at all, one of them was certainly an obsession with technicalities. "Quack."

"What are _you_, a duck?" Trowa asked, a bit miffed. He really wasn't helping himself very much. 

"Quack-ee!" It sounded like a mixture between someone being murdered and a toddler learning to talk. The second analogy made Trowa think, however. "Is that supposed to be a word?" 

The bird couldn't exactly nod in its current situation, but he took his silence as a yes. "Let's see, quack sounds like hm, argh!" Trowa had finally gotten out his dagger by this point (and a good thing he had brought it, too) and jabbed it at the octopus-like creature, missing it by miles. _At times like these, I wish Cathy were around_, he thought, not so much because he wanted his loved one with him at death, but because she actually had good aim. He almost regretted not bringing her along. He tried again as he continued his guessing game. "Well, a 'w' could sound like an 'r', so maybe Qrack, but you can't spell it that way, so I guess a 'c' or maybe a 'k'- damn it, missed again! - Crack, crack-e, kraken!" He pumped his fist in the air in a celebratory gesture and managed to rip off one of its tentacles. "Yeah!" The bird was free, gasping for air, though unharmed. "All right, now that we know it's name, let's-" Trowa began, but his voice broke, and when he regained it, he could only shout, "Run!" 

If the seagull hadn't been so busy flying with all his might, he might've tried to correct his friend on that one. The kraken's tentacle had regenerated at an abnormally rapid speed (but then, magically creatures never did things normally). It reached for the other animal again, but he was prepared and flew out of its reach in time. Instead of pursuing him, he decided to aim for Trowa, who, being stuck in the water, was a much easier prey. He tried to swim away, but he was too slow. It almost grabbed him, but was distracted by a loud "CAAWW!" Forgetting his own safety (another odd quality for an animal), the gull flew back to help his comrade, ramming himself right into the monster's head, beak first. It would've been funny, seeing a tiny little bird going at it again and again, if Trowa hadn't been scared to death. He had to find a way out of this. 

"Hey!" he shouted, successfully directing its attention back to him. Two eyes peeked above the surface of the water. "Take that!" For once, Trowa's aim was true and he flung the dagger straight into one of its eyes. Black blood trickled into the once clean ocean as the creature let out a horrible cry of pain. 

"I've got an idea, you go that way!" The team split up, weaving and twisting as the blinded creature tried in vain to catch them. "It worked!" Trowa cried out triumphantly. The kraken was quite literally, tied up in knots, its tentacles tangled together. 

"That should hold him there awhile." Trowa boldly reached out and pulled the dagger out of its eye. It was sopping wet with blood, tears and mucus. "Yuck."

The bird landed on his shoulder to examine it. It picked up the dagger by the hilt and then dropped it back into Trowa's hand. "WAAA!" He began pecking at him furiously. Trowa didn't need to speak bird to know what that meant. It clearly said, "You went on a dangerous mission with this measly little weapon?" 

"It was all I had," Trowa replied defensively. "Let's get going." They turned to leave, but the kraken had one more weapon to use against them. The water began to fill with an inky black substance and the air, a vile smelling smoke. "Run!" Again, the seagull had no time to correct him, as he soared high in the air and Trowa made a jump that would've knocked Free Willy's socks off (if he had any feet to wear them on, of course) in order to get away from the fumes. They moved as fast as they could. For such a large animal, the kraken didn't have enough ink to reach them. The toxic substance remained nearby, poisoning its creator, who was still too stuck to move.

Once they were a safe distance away, both Trowa and the seagull let out sighs of relief. "Well, now we definitely won't have to worry about that thing anymore." Trowa commented with a laugh. It was the second time he'd done so that day, but it was more a "I'm so glad I'm still alive" laugh than a "Wow, that was so funny" Laugh. They exchanged a manly wing to hand high five (or however many fingers and feathers they had all together) congratulating themselves on a job well done.

* * * * * *

Later that night, while Trowa and his friend were celebrating with a Lobsterfest-sized dinner, Cathy was eating some of her revolting soup, which went down even worse considering that she was as nauseous as hell. 

"Whatever Sally puts in her medicines," she said, "I doubt she considers the side effects." Feeling trapped, sick and very betrayed, she was surprised to hear an insistent knocking at her cavern door. 

"What, does someone want to poison me again?" she muttered. "Who is it?" she asked loudly, then she added, "in case you haven't noticed, I can't exactly open the door here." That was easily solved as her caller managed to knock down the stone and everything in front of it with one karate chop. By that alone, she knew it was Wufei, Sally's husband who was a master of martial arts (as much as one could be without legs, at any rate). "You could've just moved it all, you know, instead of breaking down my door."

"What the hell is going on here, woman?" Wufei demanded, in his customary male chauvinist tone. "The prince sent me to check on you and I find this place closed up like a fort." He was frowning, but only to feign ignorance. It wouldn't do to have her know why he was really there. As soon as he returned home from what proved to be a fruitless quest, Sally had sent him over to give Catherine a dose of a new drug with fewer side effects. A small syringe was hidden in a pouch attached to the sash (belt would've been a more accurate term) across his chest that indicated his military status. 

Cathy didn't answer, instead she said politely, "I take it things didn't go very well?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him in a manner that irritated him greatly. 

Wufei rolled his eyes. "No kidding. Whatever gave you that idea, woman?" he replied rhetorically.

"I don't know, the fact that you're back after only two days?" Cathy suggested. She smiled at him sweetly and grabbed his arm, leaning on his shoulder. "I can help you," she sung into his ear. Unlike her friends, Catherine had the misfortune of not knowing Wufei well. If she did, she would've known that A) flirting and sweet-talking didn't work on him and B) she should never stand too close to him. 

"No, you can't," he answered, with a smirk. 

"Ouch!" Cathy gasped in pain and collapsed into his arms. 

"Learn now, woman," he said quietly, not taking a chance that she wouldn't wake up. "Don't try to mess with me." He put her to bed in her prison, foiled for the third and hopefully last time.

References on How to kill an Octopus: Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book Encyclopedia- No use to me at all, unless I secretly wanted to know how octopuses mate.

Two friends, two parents and a teacher: More helpful than books, one suggested strangling with its own tentacles. I modified that idea to suit my own purposes. (Yes, I polled them to figure this out)

When in doubt, visit a website created by a seventh grader. Go to the Ask Jeeves and type in this question to find the website with this and more fun facts about octopuses. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all of its characters, anime or manga, do not belong to me. I'm just responsible for tweaking their DNA a bit. For simplicity (and humor) I kept the spellings of the manga names in accordance with how Viz spelled them. 

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter 5

Trowa awoke the next morning at what should have been dawn, in high spirits that soon dropped significantly. In his haste to leave, he'd forgotten to do one very important thing: check the five-day forecast. Instead of just peaking over the horizon, the sun was hidden by a bed of fluffy gray clouds spilling out gallons of water. 

"Just our luck, we would have a storm today," Trowa complained. He sighed. "I knew things were going too well." Normally, he wouldn't have been worried; a little water never hurt anyone, especially if that anyone was a merman, of course. But he was more concerned with the seagull, who didn't have the advantage of a tail and gills. The team had split up the night before for bed, Trowa opting to sleep under water. Now he had to find the bird before the rain got even worse. 

Any sane creature, of course, would probably take shelter on land, but Trowa never thought his friend was sane. Sure enough, he found him a few moments later, huddled on a rock, shivering cold and soaking wet. Trowa picked him up in his arms, not bothered by his sopping feathers, to warm him up. 

"Silly thing," he murmured affectionately, hugging him to his chest. "Let's find someplace to get out of this rain." He swam to a nearby cliff, which was about as much shelter as they were going to get. Trowa hunched over, shielding the bird with as much of his body as possible.

"I guess we're not going anywhere today," he said reasonably. With any other person, he might've been annoyed, but he worried about his little friend. He petted the gull like one would a dog, smoothing out his feathers so that he was kept as warm and dry as possible. The creature was curled up in a ball, shaking so much that he looked like he was having a seizure. If he hadn't been so loyal, he would've left Trowa long ago for land, but instead he stuck it out and endured the weather.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this," the merman said suddenly. His face was drawn and his eyes sad. "I told Cathy that I didn't want to put anyone I love in danger, but that is exactly what I did. It's not just the weather; you could've really gotten hurt yesterday because of me. Why do I keep doing this?" He smashed his fist into the rock wall repeatedly, until his knuckles cracked and bled. It was one of the two longest speeches he had ever said, but unlike the other one, this had no nervous joy in it, only anger and self-hatred. The bird stretched out his neck and pulled at Trowa's hair, trying to make him smile. It only made him even more unhappy.

"Why do people like to do that to me?" he wondered. "It's not just you, or Cathy. _She_ used to do it all the time. The gull looked at him inquisitively; eager to learn what it was that happened to make Trowa so locked up inside. Now it looked as though he would finally tell him.

"No one knows this," Trowa began slowly, still unsure of himself, "or at least this part of it, not even my sister. It would upset her too much if she knew. But you'll keep my secret, won't you?" The bird nodded vigorously, spraying water here and there. "Well, here goes, then."  


* * * Flashback (from Trowa's perspective)* * *

It was just before dawn, and I was sitting on a small island at the surface. It was a sunny day, not that I was paying much attention to the weather at the time [I'm starting to think that that's one of my biggest faults. Seriously.]. If I had feet, I would've been tapping them. I wasn't necessarily anxious, just excited. Well, and a little nervous, I guess, too. 

"Where the hell could she be?" I wondered. Suddenly I couldn't see anymore.

"Guess who?" a voice whispered in my ear. 

"Middie, let go of me," I said, rolling my eyes behind her hand. 

She did so, giggling. She was blonde, brown eyed and the most beautiful mermaid I ever saw. No offense to Princess Relena, but she can't hold a candle to her, not in my eyes, anyway. She was my best friend since I was little, but right then I wanted her to become something more, much more.

_"SQUAA!" The little bird interrupted Trowa's story with a screech of shock. "What's the matter?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at his friend's odd behavior. _

The bird didn't say anything more, having gotten over the initial bout of surprise, but huddled closer to him, almost possessively. His eyes were filled with disbelief, and if Trowa could've seen him, he might have thought he was hurt, too. But he didn't and so continued his story. 

"Why do you look so serious?" Middie asked me, when I didn't laugh with her. She pinched my cheeks as if to change my expression. "I mean, you usually do, but more than usual today."

I didn't laugh at that either, though normally I would've. If it were anyone else I might have been offended, but I knew she didn't mean it that way. Middie used to be the only person who could ever make me laugh, even at myself. But right then, I really was serious.

"Middie," I choked out, my nervousness almost overcoming me. I bent my tail into a kneel. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she seemed happy too, very happy, and that encouraged me to go on. "We've known each other since, since we were babies I guess, and you've always been the only person who ever understood me." I paused for breath and grabbed her hand. "I love you more than anything else in this world and I hope you feel the same." She nodded and smiled at me, a tear of happiness trickling down her cheek. [It was a corny speech, I knew it then, and I still know it now, and way out of character for me, but that was how I felt, honest.] "Would you please do me the great honor of becoming my wife?" I took out a small oyster shell from my pocked and opened it for her. She gasped when she saw its contents, a pearl ring set in coral, which is like gold to mortal people; it's very precious to us (especially since we have to cut our houses to get it). 

"Oh, Triton, it's lovely," she breathed. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me with all her strength. 

"Is that a yes?" I asked, partly joking, partly to confirm her answer, even though that was obviously what it was. 

"Yes, yes, yes," she responded, punctuating each "yes" with a kiss. "Put it on for me please." I slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. "Good job," she complimented me with a giggle. "Oh, I can't wait to tell my parents!"

I nodded in agreement. At that point, our relationship had been kept secret; all they knew about us was that we were best friends. I suppose that was to keep out meddling siblings, a.k.a. Cathy, who, as you know, has been trying to set me up since we got here. She really wasted her time, trying to set the both of us with various people, although she never thought of two of us together for some reason. I guess she thought I considered Middie a sister, just like she did. In any case, since I was three, I couldn't look at another girl beside her. But that day we were finally going to tell them. We planned to have dinner that night, her parents and mine. Cathy had gone to visit her friends in distant kingdom, but she was supposed to come back that night by dessert. Then, I was hoping she would hurry up, but now I'm glad that she wasn't home then.

_Trowa paused in his story to catch his breath and let the still shivering seagull let it all sink in being somewhat distracted by the storm. Or so Trowa thought. The animal had heard every single word he said, but was too shocked to believe it. Trowa? Engaged? Maybe even married, although he doubted that. Cathy surely would've known if it came to that, and probably would've been more sensitive to his feelings accordingly. But it didn't do much to ease the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. Still, he felt, if birds could have feelings, that Trowa needed to tell him this and he would listen, whether he wanted to hear it or not. He looked up curiously, as if to encourage Trowa to go on. He did so, feeling strangely more comfortable telling this story than he would to another of his own kind, including his sister. _

Needless to say, we were bouncing off the walls the entire day. We were supposed to be training sea lions to jump through hoops, but we may as well have done it ourselves. In case you thought otherwise, and I have a feeling most of the Sank Kingdom does, I'm no royalty. We lived in the palace yes, but in the servants quarters. We were fools, if you want to call us that, though we prefer the term "entertainers". My ancestors used to travel around, a long time ago, but ever since the Barton Dynasty (that was where I got the name, from their prince) took the throne, my family and the Unes worked for them. [_The seagull's eyes bulged when he heard the name Une, but he didn't interrupt._] Not to say we were as low as servants were, the Bartons treated us well enough. In fact, we were some of their most trusted advisors. Only I knew, because Trowa had told me, that the Princess Leia had a child before she died, a daughter. King Dekim had raised her in secret, until she suddenly disappeared about a year ago. We never did find out what happened to Princess Mariemaia, who would probably be the Queen now if she were around [_Again, the bird looked awfully surprised._]. But I suppose it was a good thing for her that she disappeared. If she had been there and seen… what we saw. The poor child.

In any case, we really couldn't wait until that night. Finally, we could put an end to all that secrecy, now that we knew it was for sure. Or so we thought. 

"Hurry up, mother!" I heard Middie, who was standing outside my house with her father, say impatiently. 

"Now dear, I know you're excited, but we have plenty of time. " Mr. Une went to help his wife, who had injured her tail in an accident a few days before. I watched her limp along through the peephole in our cavern door.

"Don't just stand there watching," My mother said from the kitchen where she was making sushi (We eat a lot of that underwater). There was a pleasant smell of spices wafting from the food. Cathy didn't get her cooking skills, that's for sure, though they were alike in every other respect, from appearances to their fiery personalities. 

"Listen to your mother, Triton," My father advised me, not looking up from his favorite newspaper, "The Daily Tides." He was a very reserved and quiet merman, like I am, and thus did basically everything she said. He was no worse the wear for it; so I did as he bid me and did what she asked. 

"Hi!" the Unes chorused, Mrs. Une kissing me on the cheek and Mr. Une shaking my hand. Middie grinned at me, excited and only slightly nervous. I took her hand surreptitiously and squeezed it as everyone settled at the table to eat. My mother placed the food on it and sat next to my father. 

"Well, it's nice to have all of you here," she said curiously, "But what's the big occasion?" The two of us exchanged a look. We'd planned to wait until dessert, when Cathy got there, but Middie was bursting with the news and I had a feeling my mother guessed already what it was. I nodded for her to speak. 

"Mom, Dad. Mr. and Mrs. Bloom. Triton and I are-" 

CRASH! A fancy china dish fell to the ground, right in the middle of her sentence.

"What the-" My father began, but mother stopped him with a look. 

"I must've not put it back correctly after I cleaned it," she reasoned. "Oh well, it was old anyway. Go on, dear."

Middie and I glanced at each other in confusion. The plate was old, yes, an antique in fact, and as children, the three of us were forbidden to play even near it, for fear it would break. But my mother didn't seem bothered by it; a look of worry had crossed her face. I think she's kind of like you, buddy. She has- had- that weird sixth sense that you do. She could always tell how people were feeling, and she could sometimes sense when bad things were going to happen. Unfortunately, she hadn't been warned of it earlier. 

"Well, okay," Middie said, ready to start again. But her enthusiasm was gone. Maybe she had a feeling too, or maybe she just got it from my mom, but whatever it was, she looked like her life had just flashed before her eyes. Maybe it had.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to me. No, it really doesn't. But Episode Zero does, at least in paperback, and I am using it as a reference for this piece, though it is not entirely historically accurate. Actually, it's not historically accurate at all, because this is fanfiction, and an alternate universe at that. So I can do what I want. 

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter Six 

_ The seagull gaped at Trowa, and shuddered from the chill of his last few words. He'd had his feelings, yes, as did others of his kind (whatever kind they might be), but for not only one, perhaps two, merwomen to predict her own death was a power he never dreamed of. And if he had, they would certainly have been nightmares. But he'd only been blessed with the ability to sense the emotions and feelings of others, not really the future. For, if Trowa could've asked him how he was feeling before they met the kraken, and before he started worrying, he would've honestly replied "Hungry," despite the fact that they'd eaten only a few minutes before. In the creature's tentacles, that same hunger felt stronger and more intense, and the bird had a strange desire to pluck out all his feathers and swallow himself whole. This was the curse of his own power, but he would almost rather feel that carnal desire for raw meat than the hollowness and hurt inside the boy who cuddled him in his arms. It was so potent that it overpowered any other feelings inside his being, whether it was care, devotion, or even love of any variety. _

He pecked at Trowa's bangs to peer at his other eye. If the animal had to create an argument for why they were so, he would've said at that moment it was only to hide, or maybe even absorb, the sorrow Trowa refused to let anyone see within him. And then he thought that while the merman Triton Bloom may have worn a mask only for workdays, Trowa Barton wore one for all occasions. But, as much as he hurt to see his master, his friend, suffer so, it would never break if he didn't let it out.

The dish was just the first interruption. A lamp was the next thing to go (Fortunately, lamps are safer underwater than on land). But that time, we could actually sense the ground trembling and feel the water getting rougher than normally. Mrs. Une nearly fell out of her chair, unable to grab onto it with her tail like the rest of us did. After a moment, the tremor subsided. But we knew it was just the beginning. 

"Triton, go to the palace and check on the king," my mother instructed. Middie held one of her mother's arms and she supported the other. 

I nodded and headed to the door swiftly. The last thing I heard my mother say was a command telling the fathers to go next door and find out what was going on. She would take care of things at home, she said. 

"Triton, wait!" I paused just outside. Middie had followed me. "I'll come with you."

I shook my head. "No, your mother needs you. I'll be okay, don't worry." I smiled at her, even though it really wasn't the most appropriate time. It was a special smile, one that I only let her see. I kissed her on the cheek for reassurance, not worrying if our parents saw us. "I'll be back soon." 

"Well, if you're sure-" she hesitated. I turned to leave again. "Hold on!" She grabbed my hand. "Take this, for luck." She pressed her engagement ring into my palm. "It'll protect you."  
At first I protested, but she was adamant about it. She looked so frightened, I couldn't say no, though I tried to tell her things would be OK. I guess I was wrong. Maybe it sounds superstitious of me, but that ring saved my life. Middie saved my life. 

_The seagull pecked at Trowa's fingers, as if he were searching for something. _

Trowa shook his head sadly. "It isn't there anymore. I gave it back to her, when she-" His voice trailed off, and the bird was afraid he would cry. But his mask proved true and he didn't. "But I'm getting ahead of myself," he said. 

"Hello?" The palace was quiet when I got there; most of the screaming merpeople were already outside, fleeing for their lives. There was smoke; and ash was flying everywhere. Three more tremors had occurred since then, each more powerful than the one before it and the explosions outside were deafening. "Your highness? Prince Trowa? Where are you?" 

I swam down the empty corridor that led to the throne room. It was elegant, lightly furnished but classy, with columns that looked like they belonged in ancient Atlantis. The throne was made of white coral, once a brilliant red, but now rickety with age. I'd always thought of it as old, but then it felt dead. It was as if the blood had poured out of it, and it felt so real, I could smell it. But it wasn't the blood of a chair that I smelled, it belonged to the corpse of our rotting king. His son, too, was bleeding profusely from a gash on his head. His eyes were half closed, but he wasn't dead yet. I would've have taken him for it, though, if he hadn't spoken to me. 

"Triton? Is that you?" he asked weakly. 

I hurried over to him. "Yes, your majesty." I touched him on the head, examining his wounds. The blood got on my hands, staining them; and for a moment I felt as though I had killed him. A crashed pillar with a missing chuck of it seemed to be the culprit, however, and a piece of coral at the prince's feet confirmed it. 

"I'm a mess," he said with a chuckle. I stared at him blankly; the situation didn't seem very funny. "The pride of the Barton family, ending up like this." He pressed his father's hand to his cheek. "There's none of us left, with Mariemaia gone." He coughed from the exertion of speaking. "Take care of the kingdom for me, don't let it fall. And if it does, bring it back again." 

"But, sir…" I protested, unwilling to accept the responsibility he would bestow upon me. 

"Please," he said, and drew his last breath. His head collapsed into my chest. I jerked away, letting his body fall to the floor. It was a cruel way to treat a prince, but I had never seen an unnatural death before then. I should've gotten used to it. 

I won't deny that I was a coward that day. When the next quake started, I didn't hesitate to leave the prince and get the hell out of there. But the palace was falling apart, and I could barely see in front of me. The smoke was so terrible; it filled my lungs and gills till I could barely breath. I could feel the sweltering heat radiating from the ocean floor. It seemed to be coming from the mountains, though I couldn't see through the windows to find out what was going on. I felt dizzy, and thought I was hallucinating. I could hear a voice calling me, and that was the last thing I heard before I passed out. 

_The seagull shook with fear and sympathy. The rain had subsided somewhat, but Trowa was too engrossed in his tale to notice. It was even easier to tell than he thought it would be. It was almost as if he was telling another person's story, and that all his sadness was flowing to someone else. It seemed like the creature, curious to know, but unwilling to let his master suffer, had sucked in some of his emotions like a sponge, being the psychic and empath he was. Only that, and the immense love and trust Trowa had for him, could keep the merman strong enough to finish. _

The next thing I knew, I was lying in a corner of the palace, amidst the rubble that was once the kingdom's glorious center. My head was propped up against cold scales, and I could see Middie hovering above me.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, hoarse from all the smoke. But I could still hear the worry in her voice. I rubbed my forehead, but nodded. "Let's get out of here." I took her hand and she pulled me up into a standing position. We started to feel our way towards the door. Only when my hand touched clammy, cold flesh did I realize we were back in the throne room. I jerked away, pulling Middie with me. 

"What's the matter?" she started to say, but suddenly there was an explosion, like someone had just popped the cork out of a gigantic bottle of champagne. The water hit with such for that it knocked down the walls in front of us. "Watch out!" Middie pushed me out of the way as one of the last pillars standing came crashing down on top of me. 

_The poor creature felt faint, so overcome was he by the grief that had come over his friend. He squawked in frustration, feeling helpless in his small body. He could do nothing for him, nothing to stop the images that flowed from Trowa's memories to his. All he could do was peck at his hair in a sweet gesture of affection. _

"Stop that!" Trowa shouted, his voice suddenly hard, and cold. "I told you not to do that." He shuddered and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. But understand that that was one of the last things she-" He took a deep breath, like an ordinary man gasping for air. 

I felt Middie's weight heavy on top of me, her hair falling into half of my face, the other half being in the dirt. "Are you all right?" she asked weakly. I lifted my face to see her and something dripped from her face to mine. At first I thought she was crying, but when I reached my hand up to touch it, it was red. With more strength than I thought I had, I pushed her and the structure on top of us off me. She fell to the floor on her back with a thud. Her eyes were closed, and I could see blood pooling behind her head, from where the stone had crushed her skull. I couldn't believe she had any life left in her after that. 

"Triton?" she murmured. I rushed to her side. 

"I'm here," I said, my voice emptied of any feeling by the shock I'd just had. 

She smiled at me thinly. "I told you that ring would protect you." She closed her eyes. 

"I'll go get help," I said, starting to stand. She grabbed my hand. 

"No, stay with me, until-" Her voice broke off and she coughed. Blood trickled down the corners of her mouth. 

I settled down next to her. "Don't worry, I won't leave you." I felt her ring pressed into my palm, where I still held it, and slipped it onto her finger. "You don't leave me." 

She shook her head, her face glowing serenely, as if she weren't just moments away from death. I rested my head next to her, not caring anymore about the dirt. "I'm sorry," she told me softly. "I can't make promises like that. But don't forget yours." 

"What?" I raised my eyes, unsure of what she was referring to. 

Middie smiled. "You're the prince now. Don't forget that. You have to take care of the kingdom." It was then I realized she'd been following me all along. I should have known she would never listen to me. She stretched her hand to brush my bangs out of my face. "You should take better care of yourself," she said, half-complaining. "I'd like to see both of your eyes at the same time for once."

I pushed my bangs off my face as she desired. She smiled again, trying to look like the strong Middie I knew. "Much better," she sighed and closed her eyes again. Those were the last words she ever spoke. My face was the last thing she ever saw. 

* * * End Flashback * * *

A small flood of tears poured down the bird's cheek, soaking Trowa's chest, though the merman brushed it off as simply rain. 

"After that, whatever it was that happened stopped, but I didn't move. Catherine showed up, maybe an hour later. I lost track of time. We buried her, and the royal family. Our parents were already buried; most of the kingdom in fact was covered with some odd substance that burned when Cathy tried to touch it. I couldn't stay there anymore. I didn't want to. I swam away, without waiting for my sister. She followed me though, and we ended up in the Sanc Kingdom. I gave Prince Milliardo Trowa's name as my own, making him think that I was a prince as well, and Catherine just an illegitimate sister. Changing my name didn't so much make me forget as it did make me an entirely different person. One focused on the responsibilities of a kingdom, and not tied down by the memories of one girl." Trowa sighed. "It did make me forget for a while, but I'm still the same Triton Bloom inside. And I won't ever forget her. I'll never love another woman again." 

Trowa hugged the seagull to his chest. "Maybe I should've let Catherine come. I needed to tell her this. I will, as soon as we get back," he resolved. The bird nodded in firm agreement. "That is, if we get back," he remarked. He felt strangely relieved, as if the weight of that pillar was finally off of his own chest. He looked up at the heavens, thinking, believing that for perhaps the first time that Middie was there. 

"I wonder if she sent you, little one," he mused. The nickname brought him back to a topic he'd meant to discuss ever since they met the kraken. "You know, we need a name for you."

The bird nodded enthusiastically and let out a loud caw that sounded like "KAAAA!" 

Trowa raised his eyebrow. "Ka? Is that your name? You know I can't understand your speech well, even when you're trying to speak my language." The bird persisted. "Okay, okay. Is that it, or just the first syllable?" He nodded. "What's next then?" The bird thought on it for a moment, than poked Trowa in the chest with his beak. 

"Chest? Heart? What?" He shook his head and did it again. "Ouch, why are you doing that to me?" The bird flew up away from him, and angled himself so that his wing was pointing at Trowa. 

"Me? Something in my name?" Trowa looked at him curiously when he pecked at his ear. "Sounds like my name? Maybe you're not that bad at charades after all. Okay. Ka- Trowa. Katro-a. Is there another spelling change? Let's see, Catroa, Cater, Quarter, Quatre?" The bird flew up and down excitedly. "Is that it? Quatre?" Trowa felt his lips curve into a small smile, feeling almost happy despite what he'd went through before. 

"Quatre it is, then, whether you're a guardian angel, magician, or whatever the hell you are. No mortal bird, that's for sure." He beckoned to him and Quatre perched himself on his shoulder. 

"So, now that I know what to call you if we're in danger, let's going. We have to find the princess." Caught up so much in his story, Trowa had nearly forgotten about Relena. She was another person he could perhaps trust with his story as well, though he never considered it before. She could help him tell Cathy, for he wasn't so sure how his sister would react if she found out he kept this from her for so long. But, he would have to find the princess first. Feeling better than he ever had since Middie's death, he, and Quatre, began the final and most challenging stretch of their journey, closer than they ever were before. 

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing isn't mine. Gundam Wing isn't mine. Gundam Wing isn't mine. Etc. Etc. Etc.

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter Seven

"Ha ha ha!" Trowa's carefree laughter mingled with the sound of the crashing waves. His smile beamed, almost matching the noon sun in its brightness. He was perched sidesaddle (There was no other way without legs, undignified though it may have been.) on a silvery dolphin, who was chirping happily. Members of its pod swam next to them, equally enjoying the merman's fun. A little ways behind, Quatre flew watching them. 

If Trowa had empathy like he did, he would've known the seagull was sulking. And just the fact that he was doing so made him sulk even more. Quatre knew, with more sense than any other bird would have, that he should be glad Trowa was this happy, the revelation of his secret making feel liberated and more energetic than ever. But the fact that he was enjoying himself with these creatures, who were mammals, like Trowa's man half, but lived in the sea like his mer-one made him feel, if he was willing to admit it, quite jealous, hurt and really left out. How he wished it was just the two of them again! But the sunny day made the sea creatures float to Trowa like bees to flowers. 

For the first time, Quatre regretted his friend's attachment to animals. The same thing that brought the two together was just as likely to tear them apart. Perhaps he treated all creatures this way, and Quatre was nothing special. What troubled him the most was the nagging idea that Trowa belonged with these dolphins (or any animals like them) and not with himself. Though he was as tied to the sea as he was to land or air, and not a thing would take him away from it, at the moment he still felt as out of place as a rooster at a hen party. But he continued following, unwilling to leave Trowa just yet, no matter how much the youth ignored him. That is, until a great splash knocked him out of the sky and replaced almost all of the air in his lungs with water. He let out an angry shriek. Since Catherine, who had only done minimal damage, he'd never been so insulted. Angrily chattering at Trowa, who hardly had time to murmur an apology, let alone realize what he'd done wrong, he flew away, now quite willing to abandon the merman he thought was his friend.

* * * * * *

"What's gotten into him?" Trowa wondered aloud as Quatre flew over his head. Like most clueless males of his species (and most others) he was oblivious to the distress he'd caused. He looked down at the dolphin he was riding for an answer. The animal might've shrugged in confusion, that is, if he had shoulders. "Maybe he doesn't like dolphins?" It snorted in contempt, as if to say, "He obviously has no taste." 

Trowa frowned at it. "Well, I'd better follow him, make sure he's okay." He slipped off the mammal into the water. The pod swam away, making cheerful sounds by way of goodbye. When they were out of sight, Trowa began the chase after his companion. But a new sound stopped him in his tracks. 

"La la la la. La la la la." He cocked his ears like he would a dog. Someone was singing in the distance. He could just make out a rocky cove some ways ahead, though he could see no one. But the rocks could be in the way. 

He hummed along for a moment. "Where have I heard that song before?" he wondered. He snapped his fingers. "Princess Relena's birthday party!" How could he forget? The girls had only been singing it for over a week (When the princess was in a good mood, that is). It was the main theme to the musical that had been performed in her honor, about a mermaid who fell in love with a human and bargained with a sea witch to get legs. He'd thought it was sappy at the time, but the princess seemed to grow even more fascinated by it with each passing day before she disappeared. Could it be her? 

_She did love to sing_, Trowa reasoned. It certainly was worth checking out. Figuring Quatre could take care of himself for a bit; he set out in the other direction toward the shore, following the song. 

* * * * * *

Unaware of Trowa's total abandonment, Quatre was brooding on a rock in the middle of the ocean. He ignored the distant call of seagulls that wanted him to come join them; he didn't fit in there either, despite what Trowa had thought at first. If he were a really self-pitying type of person, he might've started singing "I'm All Alone in the World" from Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. Fortunately, he had too much pride to go that far. And technically, that wasn't true, really. There was plenty of his kind, though no one exactly like him. And they were perfectly accepting of him (especially since he proved himself so useful). But somehow their feelings towards him paled in comparison to what Trowa might think of him. And this was odd, since his friends used to be so important to him. He didn't know when or why the change occurred; it just had. Quatre let out a birdlike sigh. And things had been going so well between them too. Trowa had been quicker to open up to him then his own sister; that meant something didn't it? He picked up a pebble with his claw and dropped it into the water, half-heartedly hoping it would hit one of those meddlesome dolphins in the head (unlikely since they weren't very close by at the time). The thought only made him feel worse; he normally wasn't the kind of person to wish harm on others, no matter how little. 

Hovering in that position, he could see a small, but familiar figure moving rapidly towards the shore. Quatre screeched in horror. Trowa? But what was he doing? He was in a hurry; he could see that. Something very good could be happening or something very bad. And, judging from their present record, it couldn't be very good. Putting aside his hurt to make room for his worry and concern, Quatre flew after him to find out what on earth, air and sea was going on. 

* * * * * *

The song grew louder and louder as Trowa approached, but he still could see no one. All he saw was a cave across the bay, with only rocks the slick black of a wet seal's hide surrounding it. If the area was inhabited, he had no idea, but inside the cave there was definitely water. 

_If Relena is held captive there by land creatures, we have the advantage in there, _Trowa thought. The idea made him feel more comfortable and secure than he would have normally thought was wise, and he left his dagger in his pouch, confident that he wouldn't need it. He dove under water for stealth and was met with a surprise: No fish were in sight, not even a guppy. 

"Oh, well," he said to himself, not feeling bothered by it in the least, though that was a clear sign something was amiss. In a few quick strokes, he was inside the caves. There was water, but it was much shallower than he had first thought; and the walls and ceiling were covered with shining crystals of different hues_. The colors here would put the Sank Kingdom to shame_; the merman mused in awe. 

The singing suddenly stopped; and he popped his head out of the water to better see what was going on. A gentle rustling caught his ears and he turned to see soft blonde curls, creamy pink skin and a sky blue tail. 

"Middie?" he said the first name that image brought to mind. The mermaid turned to face him. No, it wasn't her. "She's even more beautiful," he breathed, the traitorous thought floating out of his mouth. Indeed, the girl's blue eyes captivated him. She smiled shyly, as if she'd heard the compliment, and beckoned him towards her. 

Trowa creeped forward like he was approaching an animal that he didn't want to scare away. Her smile widened, making him more relaxed with each step. A wicked glimmer flickered in her eyes, but he took no notice, though his own eyes were locked on her. 

"Hurry, hurry," she called to him. Her voice was musical and almost unreal. Closer, closer, Trowa felt his torso brush against some kind of netting, like what a fisherman might use, but he only continued moving forward. Now his tail was in it, and his arms were caught too. Trowa gasped for air as the thing tightened around him and the world went black. 

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me. But can't I invest in it? Just a couple shares? I'll pay you. Promise. :: Crosses fingers behind her back::

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter Eight

When Trowa entered the cave, Quatre's common sense, not to mention his magical instincts, was sent reeling like a fishing line. He could hear the singing, and feel the aura of a being he knew all too well. The music sounded beautiful (and Quatre knew music better than any other bird of his kind), luring him in… 

He shook his head to clear it. No, he wouldn't do Trowa any good if he were under a spell, too. If someone looked at him at that moment with magical sight, they would see a pale blue barrier raise around him, blocking out magic, and another, clear one, that bounced the sound of him to where it could harm no one. Then he resumed following Trowa.

At first, he did it at a rapid pace, overcome with fear for his friend, but his rational mind forced him to be cautious. It would be no good rushing in making a fuss without any sort of plan first. And with a thought process more reminiscent of that of Socrates than that of Tweety Bird, he stopped himself to make one. 

* * * * * *

Trowa opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the glare that the crystals made by reflecting only a small trickle of sunlight. The light came from a hole in the ceiling that looked about the size of his fist, from that distance. He could see that the entrance to the cave had been sealed off, which probably happened the moment he got in there. He lifted his arm to shield his eyes, but its movement was blocked by cold iron. He tried the other, but with no success. His lower half, still submerged in the water, was weighed down by a heavy iron ball chained just above his fins.

"Quatre!" he called automatically. Somehow the name for his friend had quickly stuck, and even though he'd been half-joking at the time, he was glad he asked for it. But only an echo came in response, so it mattered little. Still, screaming it did make him feel a bit better, strangely enough. "Quatre!" 

Trowa heard a soft chuckle behind him (well, technically to his left, as his back was against the wall). "I'm afraid your little friend can't help you now," a vaguely familiar voice announced. 

He turned his head slightly, feeling a dull ache in his neck as he did so. Apparently nearly choking him hadn't been enough to make sure he stayed unconscious (And apparently Wufei wasn't the only one around who was trained in the martial arts). The voice belonged to the same mermaid he'd seen before, except she was no mermaid. Splashing through the water, covered in breeches which looked too fine to be touched with a drop, were two legs where her tail was supposed to be. Not that this in particular repulsed him, but she didn't seem quite as attractive now as before. He began noticing things about her that he hadn't seemed to see: dark eyebrows that split off at odd angles, long fingernails, and an ice-cold stare. Instead of the seashells that mermaids used for modestly, she covered herself with a low-cut sleeveless shirt that extended below the waist, but possibly revealed more than the shells did. Trowa was also relieved to find that his head felt clear when he looked at her, unlike before, and that his common sense had returned. 

"Let me out of here!" he demanded. "What do you want from me?"

Dorothy approached him and ran her fingers across his nicely toned chest. "Hmm," she murmured. "Impressive. No wonder he didn't want me."

Trowa frowned at her. "What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?"

She raised her eyebrows at him. "What? You mean you possibly don't know?" She put her hand to her mouth in a mock gesture of shock. Then she smiled. "Oh, now I remember, he couldn't talk to you, could he?" 

Trowa glowered at her. "Explain yourself. Who are you and what do you want?"

"But still, I can't believe he never mentioned me." She waggled her finger in a disapproving gesture and started to walk away from him. "My name is Dorothy," she said, turning her head slightly so he could hear her clearly. She sunk down in a plush chair (miraculously waterproof) that floated over the water and crossed her legs, completely relaxed. "And what I want is for your little friend to be all mine."

Trowa felt his heart drop. He screamed again, but this time not for rescue. "Quatre!"

* * * * * *

As Dorothy recited her evil villainess lines, the tip of a yellow beak peaked over the edge of the hole that someone oh so conveniently had put in the ceiling for a slightly plump sea bird to come right in. If Quatre didn't know her so well, he'd thank the heavens for erosion, but he knew better than that. If Dorothy weren't trying to lure him there on purpose, then he'd never eat seafood again. He could feel longing and loneliness coming from her, not malicious intentions. It was this, made known to him by his powers, that told him Dorothy wasn't the evil witch she pretended to be. If she were, why be so drawn to him? A little sympathy and kindness had created an infatuation so great that she would set a trap like this just to bring him to her. Well, if she wanted him, she would get him; but he refused to let Trowa be involved in their quarrel. Heaven knew he had enough problems already. 

Though the hole was not supposed to be there, Dorothy's magic only caused what rain, ice and heat would eventually do in a few centuries or so, and Quatre could use that to his advantage. Easily breaking off small chunks of stone that were weak from her spell, he slowly built up a pile of them during Trowa's interrogation of his captor. Not that she would tell him anything yet, of course, but it was the perfect distraction he needed. Perhaps Trowa had instinctively know to keep her occupied until Quatre would come, or send someone, to rescue him. Probably not, since he really couldn't hear what information Trowa was trying to get out of her. But thinking that wouldn't hurt. 

Pushing with all his strength, and literally putting his back into it, he dumped the pile of pebbles into the cave. The resulting splash was loud enough to cover the sound of his own dive (It was very fortunate that he was a bird who was able to swim). At this close angle, he could hear their dialogue, though a bit distorted by the water. 

"Why do you want Quatre?" Trowa insisted on knowing. "What did he ever do to you?"

"It's more what he didn't do. But now, that's none of your business, unless of course, you and he really are…" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and if seagulls could blush…

But since he couldn't, Trowa was more than willing to do it for him, his cheeks turning a bright tinge of pink. "I believe what you're implying is completely impossible," he responded, trying to keep his tone neutral, and for the first time in his life, failing miserably. "We're not even the same species," he reminded her, his voice squeaking a little. 

Dorothy lifted up a finger, as if to correct him, but than changed her mind, determined to make him sweat until Quatre showed up (as she was positive he would). Instead she sighed dramatically. "Ah, yes, the age-old proverb: "A bird may love a fish, but where can they build a nest?" You poor dear," she said sarcastically. "But if it doesn't work out between you two," she said cheerfully, "and he remains stubborn, I'm sure I'll be available to cheer you up." She looked him over carefully, like a hungry animal eyeing a piece of fresh meat. 

Coming out of the water for air, that was Quatre's breaking point. He would wait no longer. With his webbed feet, he propelled himself forward and took flight, his jaws wide open, ready for attack. He clamped down on her long blonde locks and pulled. Though Trowa's grooming was only a loving, though sometimes annoying, sign of affection, this extracted a bunch of long strands. Dorothy howled with pain and rage. No one ever dared touch her hair before. She flailed her arms, trying in vain to reach him, but he had the advantage of flight, and dodged them, pulling her (and her hair) around in circles as he did so. 

It was an awfully funny sight, watching Quatre hang on for dear life, and Trowa couldn't help his lips from curling into a small smile. It was like they'd planned their own comedy routine, and it took away from what he had thought was a serious situation. For a moment, he thought it was just a game, a practical joke that Quatre had concocted, with whoever the hell Dorothy was to him, to cheer him up, just in case Trowa still felt depressed. After all that happened to them, it's amazing how those two could be so optimistic, isn't it?

Next, she tried the standard stop, drop and roll that was meant for getting rid of a fire, not a pissed off seagull. The two tumbled in the sea, turning Quatre into a watery ball of fluff (the salt water was not at all good for his feathers). Dorothy's own appearance, however, was still perfect, except for a small bald spot. It was as if she had some type of spell on her for protection. 

_What, did she waterproof everything in this place?_ Trowa asked himself. If it hadn't been apparent by her previous disguise earlier and her ability to capture him, he could tell now that she was a (very vain) sorceress. He watched them as they rolled about, like two pigs in a puddle of mud, or better said, two killer whales in an aquarium show. When that didn't work, she stood and tried shaking him off. As she did this, Dorothy inched closer and closer to the wall. Trowa thought he could see a shining glimmer of silver between the crystals, but figured it was just a trick of light. Dorothy was now in a corner, and Quatre let go of her, strangely assured that she had gotten tired and would no longer fight him. He rotated in the air to look for a means of setting his friend free, keys or some kind of magical device that would work.

Trowa tried to scream a warning, but his vocal chords weren't working. _She must've put another spell on me. _He tried thrashing his tail in the water and rattling his chains, but it was as if he, or Quatre, was deaf. His search completely fruitless, the seagull turned back to Dorothy for the answer. What he found was no set of keys, but the sharp point of a sword aimed directly at his chest. 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? ::grumbles :: Gundam Wing is not mine.

A Fish Out of Water-Chapter Nine

Water trickled down the seagull's beak, but Trowa couldn't tell if it was sweat or just a result of his free for all with Dorothy (_Can birds sweat?_ He wondered.) She moved the point up and down slowly, never taking it off him, but never pushing it into his flesh either. 

"You should learn that you can't escape me so easily," she advised him, her voice cold. "I'm not one to give up, as you can see. When you killed the kraken, I sent a storm, when that didn't work, I tricked your friend over there into abandoning you." Her gaze flickered over to Trowa and he could see the loathing jealousy in her eyes. 

"And yet," she continued shrilly, "you two still stayed together! You would never leave him, no matter what I threw at you. I wonder," she mused, as if she'd suddenly remembered another bit of mischief, "if he would've kept you around if he knew what you really are, instead of his sweet, innocent little bird friend. Would he have confided in you then? Cause, from what I've learned about you," she pointed at Trowa, "you're not much of a people person- Ahem, merman- are you?" 

Trowa glared at her. He was tired of riddles. "What are you talking about? Just get to the friggin' point already, goddamnit! And leave us the hell alone!" 

She clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Such foul language! But, if you insist, I shall indeed get to the point." She dropped her sword, much to Quatre's relief, only to pick up another exactly like it. She held it in front of him, point facing toward her, as if she were giving it to him, though he very well couldn't hold it in his wings. "And I want you two to know, no one ever said I didn't fight fair." It fell from her hand and plunked against the sand underneath them, below the water. 

"Are you going to pick it up?" she asked the animal sweetly. He opened his mouth, as if to answer, but only birdlike chatter came out. 

"Oh, of course, how silly of me. You can't fence like that." She raised her hands, stepping to the side as she did so to make sure that Trowa could see. He watched with interest, wondering what she possibly could've had in store for him this time.

* * * * * *

While Trowa and Quatre were dealing with that, a secret meeting was being held in the royal chambers of the Sank Kingdom to discuss recent events. The members included Prince Milliardo and Noin, Lord and Lady Darlian, the princess's foster parents, Wufei and Sally, of course, Pagan the royal butler and the most trusted member of the household, a royal messenger by the name of Walker, who was also the prince's friend, and one other person, who currently had the floor. Guess who that was. 

"That was cruel and unusual punishment," Catherine fumed. "You three could be arrested for that." She glared accusingly at Noin and the Changs, all of whom looked guilty. 

"Yes, they could be," the prince spoke up wearily. There were bags and purple circles under his eyes. "Except they were under my orders and we only did it for your safety."

Now she directed her glare at him, hands on her hips. "My safety? What about Trowa's safety? There's no reason for you not to send anyone now; we've searched practically the entire ocean for Relena and found nothing. What if the same people that took her got him too? They could both be dead for all we know, and you're just going to abandon them? What kind of brother-"

"That's enough!" Zechs boomed, fed up with Catherine's verbal abuse. Clearly she had hit a nerve. "If I were any other type of king, you'd be dead right now. Luckily, I understand how you're feeling and I'll take your insolence for just fear and ignorance. For your information, I was going to send Wufei and his troops out, that was one of the topics I was going to bring up at this meeting. But since you're so impatient, I'll give you what you wanted. I think it would be best if you go along with them and do their cooking and cleaning. You leave tomorrow morning at dawn. That should teach you to think before you speak, if nothing else."

"Er, sire, on behalf of my men," Wufei began, looking horrified at the prospect of having to endure Catherine's cooking for who knew how long. But Sally pinched him, and he automatically shut up. 

"Excuse me, your majesty, but can I offer my services? They may need a healer, and I could keep an eye on Catherine-"  
"Done." The prince didn't need any more convincing. "Now get out of my sight, all of you!" The merpeople scrambled to obey, frightened by this tone that their normally kind ruler usually wouldn't use. Only Noin was brave enough to stay by her husband, knowing that his anger would be replaced some time later and he would be in need of comfort. 

Sally dragged Catherine out, before she could get herself into anymore trouble. "You get what you wish for," she grumbled in her ear, not too thrilled about having to baby-sit for the impulsive redhead. Only sympathy for her husband had compelled her to volunteer for the job as she did. 

Cathy jerked away. "Oh, don't get your seashells in a twist," she retorted, and sauntered off to go pack.

* * * * * *

"Avis converte homo. Avis converte homo. Avis converte homo *." 

The words in the foreign tongue mesmerized Trowa as Dorothy chanted them over and over. A peculiar glow had set upon Quatre and his features were distorted, constantly moving so that he couldn't look at him for very long. 

"Avis converte homo. Avis converte homo. Resera **!" Dorothy broke off her chanting suddenly with a shout. A cloud of dust or sparkles or something, Trowa didn't know what it was, covered Quatre and all he could see was the bird's shadow. It moved, it flickered in and out, stretching, expanding, changing its shape rapidly. It was like watching a baby grow on high speed. Feathered wings extended and separated into arms and fingers; short sharp claws elongated and became legs. The beak shrunk to a smaller, misshapen point and a pair of pink lips formed underneath. A bald-looking white head grew into silky blonde hair and pale smooth skin. Only two light blue eyes remained the same, the strange feature of a strange bird possibly looking even stranger in this form. 

Trowa gaped in awe as these images fit together to create a whole. The figure was dressed in a dark gray-feathered vest and khaki pants that were soaked to the knee, a pale pink linen shirt completing the outfit. Wearing it was possibly the most gorgeous guy Trowa had ever seen (not that he had looked at many guys before, or girls for that matter). "Q-Quatre?"  
The merman stared at the friend he'd so long thought of as foul rather than flesh, and the man in its place gazed back with equal intensity. It was a different experience, looking at him at this angle, instead of always having to look up or down. Trowa was still taller than he was, by at least an inch or so, though it was hard to tell because of the position of his tail. 

But it wasn't so much the difference in appearance as in mood that Quatre himself was looking for, and he approached his friend, reaching out his hand slowly, as if he was afraid he would flinch. Trowa didn't and tried to give it to him, forgetting its position attached to the wall. Quatre frowned as he remembered that, but made no move to free him, not yet. He clasped his hand, now reaching out mentally instead of physically. Normally he could sense emotions without contact, but he needed to be sure. He was relieved to find that there was no fear in his friend's heart, only understandable confusion and a strange happiness that he couldn't comprehend. Though Quatre could pick out emotions easily enough, the difficulty was figuring out the cause of them. 

"Yes, it's me," he said softly in his ear. "I wanted to tell you so badly before, but I couldn't-."  
Trowa hushed him. "I know, it's not your fault. I don't blame you." He suddenly lifted his head and Quatre turned to look at what his friend was glaring at. "I blame her!" the merman said loudly, having more than a hunch that she had something to do with it. 

Dorothy looked at him innocently. "Who, little old me?" she asked sweetly. "I don't deny it, but right now is not the time to point fingers." She thrust a sword into Quatre's hand. "You owe me a duel."

* * * * * *

By that time, Trowa was tired, really tired. He was annoyed, hungry, pissed off, and sick of being used. "That's enough!" he bellowed, sounding an awful lot like Prince Milliardo, who was probably saying the exact same thing at that exact time. He pulled and ripped the chains that held his arms right off the wall. He did the same with the ones on his tail, and stepped (swam) in front of Quatre protectively. 

"I'm sick of this. I don't know what Quatre did to you, woman [Anger had made him channel Wufei.] but get the hell over it. I'm sick of you. Quatre isn't going to get rid of me for a long time, and certainly not for you, so you may as well give up. And if you're still not satisfied and want a fight, than take me on. He saved my life by coming here today, even if it meant having to deal with you. I owe him at least that." The two men exchanged as smile, though Quatre looked somewhat embarrassed in addition to extremely pleased. But then the birdman shook his head. 

"No, I can't let you do that. I'll fight you," he declared, looking fiercely at Dorothy. She yawned, bored by Trowa's third and by far sappiest speech ever. "Don't worry, she won't hurt me," he said softly to Trowa, ruffling his bangs as if to reassure him he was still the same loyal bird who would protect him no matter what. He could see now Trowa raising an eyebrow, not at all convinced by his words. But he knew that trying to persuade him would be useless. 

"Are you going to give him a kiss for good luck, or are we going to get on with this?" Dorothy asked; rolling her eyes as the two youths blushed. 

"As you desire, Miss Dorothy," Quatre said, as politely as if they were attending an afternoon tea instead of a fight that could cost one of them his life. Since Trowa didn't know Dorothy that well, he figured that would be how it ended up, and the though didn't calm him one bit. 

The two assumed a guard position, and so far it seemed like an even match, though Trowa didn't know that much about sword fighting (His were a trident wielding kind of people.). The two were of the same height and similar builds, though obviously not the same since they were of different sexes. Both were short and slim for their age, although the way Dorothy carried herself made her seem much taller. How well either of them could fight, however, was another matter entirely. He would just have to wait and see what would happen. 

"En guarde!" Dorothy was the first to strike; shouting in another language Trowa didn't know, though this time he could guess what the word meant. She swooped in with a grand upward slash, her footwork hidden, but not impeded by the water. 

Quatre blocked it in what seemed to be an easy move, but made every muscle in his body scream. He knew, though Trowa didn't, that Dorothy was a much more experienced fencer than he was; though they were of equal strength. But he'd seen her practicing frequently enough to know she wasn't aiming to kill, or even injure. He struck back and she parried the blow, and they went back and forth like this for some time. 

"Tired yet?" she taunted, as he skirted toward the side, out of her reach. Her goal was to get him off balance; but while she was more experienced in fighting, he, even in human form, could function far better in the water. He was as graceful as a swan in this atmosphere, and she couldn't help but admire him for it, though she managed to keep focused. 

"Not at all," he said lightly, though he was panting quite a bit. "I enjoy exercising, even though I still think this is ridiculous."  
"You agreed to it," she reminded him, ducking his blow and swung her sword at his legs. He jumped to avoid it and landed on his feet with a splash, getting water in her eyes as he did so. 

She wiped them with one arm and struck again with the other. He avoided it, having closed his eyes just in time and keeping his sight and aimed at her shoulder. It cut off a few strands of hair before he pulled back, unwilling to hurt her. "Yes, but what choice did you give me? You forget sometimes, it seems, that humans have free will. You didn't use to act this way. Your grandfather spoiled you after your parents died. You can't have everything you want, especially not people." A clang of metal against metal made him wince. 

"Why can't I? I'm the most powerful sorceress in the world," she said. It sounded haughty, but it was indeed the truth. And in that moment, Trowa could see her as Quatre saw her: a spoiled brat having a tantrum because she didn't get what she wanted, not an evil being. But he didn't forgive her just yet.

"Because friendship doesn't work like that," Quatre was saying. He looked sad, and sympathetic. "Love doesn't work like that. You don't love me, not really." 

Trowa's eyes widened at that statement. He'd deduced what Dorothy had wanted from his friend, it was obvious, but he didn't realize she fancied herself in love with him. He couldn't help but want to correct her. 

"What do you know?" she replied, sweat dripping down her face from the exertion.

"He's right," the merman cut in, shouting over the sound of their clashing swords and heavy breathing. "You don't try to make the person you love miserable. That isn't love. You're supposed to want them to be happy, even if it's not with you. I know it's hard." His thought suddenly drifted to Middie and the idea he'd thought of the day before. She would definitely want him to be happy without her; he finally understood that. If only he could make Dorothy realize the same thing. 

"You- two," she panted, "don't understand me at all!" She lunged in. Quatre, who had slowed in the hopes that Trowa's words had actually gotten through to her, didn't react as fast as he would have. The tip of her sword embedded itself in his side and snapped, as the horror stricken merman watched, once again unable to do anything to save his loved one. 

To be continued.

*Avis- bird

Convertere- change

Homo- man

Avis converte homo- bird change into man

**Resera- Unlock, undo


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing still doesn't belong to me.

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter Ten

A piercing scream bounced off the thick walls of the cave, nearly shattering Trowa's eardrums. Dorothy's face was white, her mouth hanging open in disbelief, while Quatre just seemed surprised that there was a piece of steel lodged in his skin. It was the sorceress, not her victim, who had screamed. 

"I-I…" Dorothy stuttered, pretty sure that simply apologizing wouldn't be very helpful. She seemed horrified by what she had done, and it occurred to Trowa that Quatre had been right all along.

"This is why you shouldn't play with sharp objects," Quatre said mildly, though he was grimacing from the pain as he pulled the metal out of his side carefully. Blood streamed from the wound, staining his shirt (though that was the least of his problems) but no vital organs seemed to be coming out, fortunately. His legs gave way and Trowa hurried over to provide him with support.

"We need to stop the bleeding," the merman said, his mind strangely clear in the face of this disaster. He wasn't sure what was different, but perhaps the medical knowledge he'd gained from hanging around Sally helped. "Do you have any bandages, or rags?" 

Dorothy shook her head numbly. "No, I don't." she fell to her knees in despair. "I'm so sorry," she wailed, her voice filled with the emotion you couldn't see on her face. 

"Whining isn't going to help him any," Trowa said sternly. He scanned the room, looking for something, anything that would work, and his eyes fell on Dorothy again. "Think you can rip the bottom of that off?" he asked.

"What-" Dorothy looked down to see what he was pointing at and immediately tore into the fabric of her shirt, creating a long strip while leaving enough to cover herself (not that she would've minded really if it didn't). She handed it to Trowa, who pressed it to the wound gently. 

Quatre whimpered slightly, but didn't move, a good patient if there was any. Despite this, the compress did no good, except to break the separate the flood into occasional spurts. 

"It's too deep!" Trowa bit his lip, his emerald eyes filled with worry. "It needs stitches, or something to close it up."

"I don't have anything!" Dorothy cried in frustration, wringing her hands. "If I were at home, I could make a potion to heal him, but- Wait!" A thought suddenly occurred to her. 

"What? What?" Trowa demanded. Quatre gripped his hand tightly, nearly cutting off his circulation. "Tell us!"   
"The potion I gave you for Heero," she said, speaking about some person Trowa didn't know, though he could've sworn that he had heard, or seen the name somewhere. "It would help you." Her face fell. "But he can't get there in this condition."

Trowa looked at her sharply. "Not alone he can't. But I can bring him. Where do I find this person?"

"Not more than a mile away, along the coast," Quatre spoke up, his voice weak. "We were headed there anyway. Pr-" His voice trailed off, and he tipped forward again. Trowa put his hands on his chest to catch him and prevent him from injuring himself further. He didn't press Quatre to continue what he was about to say. He cradled the young man in his arms; careful to keep him above the water so no salt got into the wound.

"Open this cave," he commanded, and Dorothy rushed to do his bidding. He could hear her mutter a word in that same strange language she had spoken before when she was casting a spell, and then an "Uh-oh!"

"What do you mean, 'uh-oh'?" Dorothy came back to them, the color that had started to come back into her face gone again. 

"We have a slight problem," she said meekly, quite unlike the powerful sorceress she had been only a few minutes before. 

He glared at her. "What problem?" If Trowa had time to think about it, he had probably never said so many words, much less in that tone, ever in his life. Though adversity had made a helpless man of him before, it was making a prince of him now. 

"You see, the backlash from the storm system that I summoned-" she began, while Trowa (and Quatre, who had just roused again) blinked at her. "Well," she started again, speaking in layman's terms this time; "it's a disaster out there. Blizzards, whirlpools, tidal waves, you name it, we've got it. I believe I was a bit hasty when I called that storm, I forgot to make sure something worse wouldn't follow it. You can't go out in that." 

If she were his child, Trowa might've slapped her at that moment, but as it was he had his hands full. "We don't really have much of a choice, now do we?" he pushed past her and the cold air blasted in their faces. "We're leaving."

"But you can't-" she started to protest, but the look on his face shut her up quickly. 

"Trowa," Quatre croaked his name, his eyes half closed. "Don't leave Dorothy all alone here. It's not safe."

The merman frowned and looked from him to Dorothy. "She can take care of herself," he said firmly, quite decided on the matter. 

She nodded. "I'll be all right, Quatre," she said softly. "What's important is that you get well. Take care of him," she told Trowa. Her eyes were moist, but no tears leaked out. 

"How sad," Trowa said, almost to himself. "You don't know how to cry, do you?" He started to leave, but then turned back. "I hope you learn, someday." The words seemed harsh, but there was no malice in them, in spite of everything they'd been through, in spite of everything she'd done. She nodded again, and seemingly satisfied, they left her to go out into the cold.

* * * * * *

The water was rougher than he'd ever seen it before. It tossed him about, slamming him into the brick waves like he was hitting a brick wall. He huddled the once again unconscious Quatre to his chest, taking in most of the blows himself. One arm was around the youth's legs, the other around his waist so that his hand was clasped on the wound. The birdman shivered in his sleep restlessly, and Trowa feared he was delirious; but it was only a reaction to the bitter cold. Though their home was far from tropical, it wasn't usually arctic either. Trowa wished he could have brought the both of them underwater, where they would have been warmer and somewhat protected from the monster Dorothy had accidentally created. A block of ice bobbed up and down in the water, coming towards them, but Trowa couldn't see it. The snow blinded him, and in his peripheral vision he could see a whirlpool threatening to pull them in. He didn't notice the ice until it smashed into the side of his head and he was knocked into unconsciousness, feeling the tug of the water sucking him in. 

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing isn't mine. I'm tired of trying to be creative with these things.

A Fish Out of Water-Chapter Eleven

The next thing Trowa heard was a high-pitched giggling alternating with a low chuckle. His face was pressed into sand mixed with melting snow. It was cool on his cheek, and relieved him of some of the sun's heat. Again he wished that some merman had invented sunscreen, for the rays bore into his back. Not to say he didn't enjoy sunbathing, but the winter could be pleasant for someone who lived in cold ocean water. It was fun too. He retreated into his dreams once again for the memory. 

* * * Flashback * * *

Splat! A freezing ball of fluff contacted with his back. He turned to see the giggling figure behind him. Her back was to an iceberg, and she didn't seem at all bothered by the cold. The falling snow caught in her hair, making it shine like an angel's, but her grin was demonic. "Catch me if you can," she challenged. 

He swam after her, around and around the iceberg, hurling snowballs as she dodged them with expert ease, laughing all the way.

* * * End Flashback* * *

_Those were the good old days_, he thought to himself. He rolled over on his back, letting the sun shine on his front and leaving his throbbing head to the numbing snow. His palm gently hit a fistful of blond hair as he did so, and he smiled slightly at the realization that Quatre was sleeping peacefully next to him. A thought nagged at the back of his mind that he couldn't place; in this half-awake state, he had nearly forgotten what had occurred before. He didn't seem to hear the growing laughter, nor the footsteps approaching, nor a familiar female voice screaming his name when its owner saw him and his companion. He heard a low voice that he didn't know answer her, and Quatre's higher, more soothing one, assuring that something was fine. There was running across the sand and then a coughing, gagging sound. He rolled to his side, getting somewhat annoyed that they were making so much racket. His tail felt extremely odd and detached from the rest of his body, though he couldn't imagine why. He wanted nothing but to go back to sleep, until a perky blonde appeared in front of his half-opened eyes. 

"Rise and shine, Trowa," the girl said cheerfully. 

"In a few minutes, Princess," he murmured. Suddenly his eyes flew open. "Princess!" He blinked, but it was indeed Princess Relena before him. But she was different. Instead of her normal clothing, she wore a dress of what looked like awfully scratchy fabric (though any cloth seemed scratchy to him) and straw sandals on her feet. _Feet?_ Trowa pushed himself off the sand to a standing position, only to topple over on what felt like two sticks. He shrieked in alarm, while Relena tried to calm him. He almost didn't notice Quatre and another strange man walk toward him. 

"It's okay, it happens when we come on land. Your tail will come back once you get into the water. This is normal, don't worry," the princess reassured him. Her calm tone soothed him some and Trowa took deep breaths, completely through his mouth, nose and lungs, realizing that apparently his gills were gone too. He felt a hand on his shoulder, Quatre. Trowa looked at his friend, whose smile made him feel even better at first, until another thought came back. 

"Quatre! You're all right!" He exclaimed. 

The blonde nodded. "Yes, thanks to Heero here. He was able to give me the rest of the potion just in time." He indicated the man next to him. He was attractive (_Not as much as Quatre_, Trowa found himself thinking loyally) with deep blue eyes, messy brown hair and a serious expression. He nodded to Trowa in greeting and then went over to Relena, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned on his shoulder, smiling happily. 

Trowa blinked at them. "Excuse me, but what the hell is going on?"

* * * * * * 

Trowa was led to a cluster of large grass huts just past the beach. Quatre supported him on one side, Relena on the other, while Heero guided them in front. All through the journey, Relena kept taking secret glances at him and Quatre, a puzzled smile on her face, but Trowa was too busy trying to keep his balance to take notice. 

It was an odd sensation, walking, and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. It made him feel clumsy, but there was something empowering about it. Though they seemed strange, these limbs belonged entirely to him, and he would master them eventually. His body was covered in a gray cloak, at Relena's insistence, to hide some other new body part that he wasn't quite sure at that moment what they were used for. Quatre had whispered to him, with his face bright red, that he would explain later on. 

In any case, he certainly was relieved when they got to one of the huts (which just happened to be farther away than most of them) and he had to sit down. Relena, who seemed strangely at home in this place, hurried to a trunk on one side of the room and pulled out a pair of breeches and a loincloth for Trowa to wear. He dressed awkwardly; trying to figure out how to put them on, while the three other people had a conference across the room. Trowa could see Quatre take a small vile from his pocket and give it to Relena, who cheered and kissed him on the cheek excitedly. Heero said a quiet "Thanks", his eyes smiling though his mouth wasn't. 

"What's that?" Trowa asked curiously. 

"Hm?" Relena turned to him. "Oh, it's a potion to make me into a permanent human. We can only last here for three days," she explained, "before we have to go back into the water. But now I'll have legs forever, and I can go wherever on land that I want." She now kissed Heero, on the lips this time. "Just in time for our wedding tomorrow!"

Trowa was too busy trying to register the first part of what she said to pay much attention to the second. "Human? But that means you can never come home." He sounded more than slightly distressed that his quest may have been for nothing. "Your brother is worried about you, and he sent me to find you."

Relena frowned. "I thought I left him a note. Didn't I? Oops, maybe I forgot. Well, in any case, you can tell him that I'm perfectly fine, and I'm staying right here. Well, maybe not right here, we're probably going to do some traveling, sooner rather than later, but for the most part, right here. Thanks to you, Quatre," she said to the man, who was still blushing because she had kissed him. 

"It was nothing," he said humbly. 

Heero raised an eyebrow at him. "Nothing? You call what you went through nothing? I would've gone myself if I knew what Dorothy was going to put you through. What did you say to her that set her off?"  
"I, er, refused to be her lover," he said sheepishly, blushing even further. 

"Again? Quatre, you should know better. Every time she asks you that, you always refuse, and then she finds another way to torture you. Trapping you in your bird form, setting up an obstacle course like she did this time. Why can't you just sleep with her and get on with it?" Relena elbowed him. "I didn't mean that." He sighed. "Well, at least she gave you the potion and no one got seriously hurt."  
Now it was Trowa's turn to scold, but Relena, not Quatre. "What? That's from Dorothy? That sea-witch! Are you insane? She could've poisoned it. Weren't you paying attention when they did that play? It could be a trap."

Relena waved a hand at him nonchalantly. "Oh, you worry too much. It's just a story. And since I can't become one of them, a human is the next best thing." She sighed wistfully. "It would've been so nice to fly."  
"Huh?" Trowa rummaged through his bag, finally putting two and two together, and getting the feather the prince had found from his bag. "Does this belong to one of you?"

Heero took it from him. "I was wondering where this went," he said. 

"You were molting. I figured you didn't need it," Relena answered. "Yes, that is Heero's," she explained, turning to Trowa. "They're of a race called the Avians, human beings who can turn into a specific bird at will. You already know that Quatre's a seagull ["I was wondering why that was," Trowa interrupted.]. Heero is an eagle, a white eagle at that, which is really rare, and it shows that he's one of the strongest member of the clan," she told him proudly, hugging her fiancee like he were a teddy bear instead of a very stern looking human. To Trowa's surprise, he returned her hug with equal ardor. 

"There are others of us, who all live here," Quatre continued, letting the couple have their moment. "You'll meet them later. Our friend Duo's a vulture; his wife Hilde's a raven. King Treize, he's a falcon, and his wife Lady Une (That's why I thought it was weird before.) is a sparrow, don't ask me why. An odd couple, that's for sure. And his daughter Mariemaia, who I think you might already know, Trowa, turns into a duck, which is probably why you never saw her in public. She can't swim very well under water, even though she's a water bird."

Trowa was surprised at this revelation, but it did make sense, and it also explained her disappearance. Still, it was almost too much to take. Who knew that Quatre was one of these people all along? Thanks to Dorothy's magic, he didn't, until now. 

As if he read his thoughts, Quatre added, "Dorothy is also one of us. She's a crow, which could account for her crafty nature. See, most of our bird forms match with our personalities. Heero and the king are both strong hunters, I love the ocean, etc., etc. Once in awhile, you get a weird one like Lady Une (though she has the coloring of a sparrow) but mostly it works." 

Trowa nodded in understanding. "That's interesting. But I still don't know how Relena got here." 

"Oh, that's a long story," the former mermaid spoke up, disengaging herself from her lover. "You want to hear the long version, or the short one?"

He rubbed his head, which still ached, and he could feel a large bump forming. "The short version please, my head hurts too much for anything else. Someday you can tell me the long."

"All right," she agreed, and began her tale. 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not, has not, and will never belong to me. I do, however, own a bar of Dove soap, which unlike our heroes, I use frequently.

Author's note: Part of this chapter is a brief account of what had happened to Relena. For those 3x4 fans that are also 1xR fans (I know there are some.), I eventually will do a series that explores her story in more detail (But first I need a break after this is finished).

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter Twelve

Relena's story

The day after the play, I was exploring the surface, against my brother's wishes, of course, but whatever, when, all of a sudden, I see a bird falling from the sky. So I swim to where I think it landed and I find no bird, but Heero, who's nearly drowning because he can't swim. I brought him to the surface, and one of the first things he does is threaten to kill me, because he's afraid of, I don't know, some imaginary enemy (You're another one who worries too much, dear.) and thought I know his secret. Not that the Avians are any state secret, mind you, but they do like their privacy, just as we do, and I suppose I could've been some crazy sorceress who wanted to do experiments on him, but still. You'd think I'd leave the ungrateful bastard after that (Just kidding, honey.), but no, I stayed with him and took care of him. Since he broke his leg, although I can't see the connection, he couldn't change back into his bird form. During that time, we got used to each other I guess.

_"You mean _I_ got used to _your_ incessant chatter," Heero interrupted, though Trowa figured he was just teasing by the way Relena lightly smacked him. It was hard to tell with that one._

Anyway, we eventual learned to trust each other to reveal what we really were (He thought I was an ordinary human, you see, because I didn't come out of the water.)

_Actually, that isn't true," Heero cut in again. "It was pretty obvious that something was wrong with her," he told Trowa._

"What do you mean?" Trowa asked curiously.

"Well," the stoic young man began.

Heero's story

I thought Relena was a strange girl for a number of reasons. One, she already mentioned, the other was that the woman would never stop talking. _Trowa chuckled: he sounded so much like Wufei._But the first one was the weirder one (The second one's just her personality, I found out later.) It was fortunate that I was weak for awhile from my injury, so I couldn't really move around that much. But eventually I gained most of my strength back, and I was restless. I wanted to walk around, but she refused to let me out of her sight.

_"As if you could've gotten anywhere on your own," she retorted._

So I figured that the only way was to get her to come with me. But she didn't want to come out either. So, I did the only thing I could do to convince her: I picked her up and made her get out. And the same thing happened to her that happened to you.

_"She had legs?" Trowa guessed, his eyes wide, though he was still unconvinced that this was normal._

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that too," Heero said absentmindedly, smirking at Relena (It was the closest thing to a smile that he had), who blushed.

Quatre's face was red too. "No, he means that she didn't have any, uh, covering," he explained. "That happened a couple of times, even after she found clothing to wear."

"That was your fault!" Relena scolded, getting angry at the memory. "Honestly, you men are so nosy!"

Trowa blinked at them. "Um, do I want to ask what happened?"

"Yes," Heero said, while the other two said "No!" "It was a funny story," he said, not seeming jealous at all, "if you won't tell it, than I will."

"Have it your way," Quatre muttered.

Quatre's story

I hope that this is much easier to understand then my charades. I'd like to preface this by saying that we're a very close people, and we don't abandon our own kind. So, when Heero disappeared, naturally they sent out a scout to look for him, me. I found him all right, but I found something else too. Needless to say, it took awhile for Miss Relena and me to become friends, and we'd usually rather not bring it up. But Heero insisted, and I don't want him twisting this to make me look bad. I was easily alerted to Heero's presence, for my magic allows me to locate people through their emotions. And since there were only two people there, I had to assume that half of what I was feeling was Heero's emotions, though they were really unusual for him (He's not the romantic type.). In any case, I went to investigate and I heard someone singing. You probably don't know this, but I'm something of a musician, not a very good one _"Can it with the humility, it's annoying," said Heero._ but I love it. So naturally, I went to see who was singing. I couldn't see them, since they were hidden by rocks _"That should've told you something right away," the princess interrupted._. So when I went to look, there was Miss Relena-"

His voice broke and he looked like he needed to douse his head in cold water.

"What?" Trowa asked, though he thought it was unnecessary.

"Well, you see, she was, she was…"

"Oh, for the love of God!" Heero said in exasperation. "She was naked. There I said it. No one turned to stone. Honestly Quatre, it's a miracle anyone wants to be your lover. I swear, you're as naïve as… as… as a baby goat!" Relena raised her eyebrow at him, wondering where the hell he got that analogy, though not bothered by his blunt manner at all. "And you have so many sisters, too. You'd think you'd be used to it. Sometimes I wonder, does anyone ever attract you at all?"

"Yes!" The youth protested hotly. Perhaps it was a coincidence, perhaps not, but he was looking directly at Trowa when he said that.

Fortunately, the clueless de-tailed merman wasn't paying attention. He was too focused on the thought that his new best friend saw Princess Relena in the nude. The thought made him feel oddly queasy. The princess, as mentioned before was considered a beauty and superficial males said that they fell in love at just the sight of her clothed, and not the eyeful Quatre had apparently gotten. _Does he…?_

Trowa mentally shook his head. Quatre didn't seem to hold her in any particular regard other than perhaps friendship, and even if he didn't, he probably wouldn't act on it because of Heero. _That guy certainly wouldn't be too happy if he found out he liked her,_ he thought, reassuring himself a bit. But hearing it still made him feel a jealousy that he never had before. Quatre looked over at him suddenly, perhaps sensing what he felt, and Trowa could see a strange hurt in his eyes, though he couldn't imagine why.

Before Trowa could decide whether he should ask what was wrong, a flurry of footsteps was heard outside the hut. For a moment, he thought a herd of stampeding elephants was coming.

"Oh, don't worry, it's just time for dinner," Relena spoke up, noticing his alarm. "We have to go outside to eat, because that's where the fire is. It's a little crowded, but you get used to it. And the food is pretty good for cooked stuff. You can meet the king and all our friends." Without a chance to digest all that, Trowa found himself herded (more like carried) back into the night.

Trowa was seated on a log a little ways away from the fire where he could see everyone around him. He'd never seen so many humans in his life. _Not human, Avians_, he corrected himself. _These people aren't mortals any more than I am._ Relena stood next to him, balancing on her toes (which he admired though he thought it was insane) as if she were looking for someone, while Heero and Quatre were talking quietly on the other side of her. He could only hear snippets of the conversation, but he got the impression that Heero was telling him what had happened while he was away.

"Duo! Hilde! Over here!" The princess shouted suddenly, waving her hands so the people she was addressing could see her. A young couple waved and came over to them. The woman was short and petite, with short dark hair (_She looks like a tiny version of Noin, _Trowa thought, _no wonder Relena likes her.)_, cute, though not a beauty. The man was also good-looking, but odd; his brown hair was tied in a braid that went down past his waist, and he was dressed all in black, except for a funny white collar. Despite his outfit, both of them were grinning cheerfully.

"Quatre, you're back!" The man, who he assumed was Duo, greeted Quatre with a slap on the back that would've knocked Trowa off his already unsteady feet. "How's Dorothy?" he added with a wink.

Quatre made a face at him. "She should be fine, better than normal in personality, in fact. But I'll tell you about that later, though," he said, in response to the question in Duo's eyes. That satisfied him for the moment, and now the energetic youth turned to Trowa.

"Who are you?" he blurted out, his curiosity overcoming his propriety. Trowa thought for a moment that he should've been a cat instead of a bird.

"This is my friend Trowa," Princess Relena explained. "My brother sent him out looking for me, so Quatre brought him here."

"Well, it's more complicated than that, but yeah," Trowa corrected her, reaching out to shake the hand Duo had offered him.

"Ah, I see." A mischievous glint shone in Duo's eye, and Trowa couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. "Well, nice to meet you, buddy," he said with a grin. Quatre shot him a warning glance, which only heightened Trowa's own curiosity.

"Is King Treize dining here tonight?" The former seagull asked, changing the subject from some unspoken topic Trowa wasn't sure of.

The alleged vulture scratched his head like a confused monkey. "Yeah, I think so, why do you ask?"

"Because I want to introduce Trowa to the Princess Mariemaia. He's from her kingdom in the ocean."

"Really? Cool!" Hilde bubbled excitedly. "And I thought merpeople were just fairy tales, now I know three! Well, technically two, Mariemaia's only part mermaid, and she looks all human, but still, this is awesome!"

Trowa smiled slightly at the girl's enthusiasm. "I'll be glad to tell you all you like about us," he said graciously.

"Hey! You better not be flirting with my girl," Duo said warningly, putting his arm around her shoulders. But his eyes laughed, so Trowa figured that he was just kidding.

Before Trowa could think of a response worthy of this amusing man (He liked him already, which was odd for the normally antisocial merman.), the people all fell silent. A man and a woman walked out of the largest hut, followed by a young, redheaded girl. The man was tall and regal, in a shirt and breeches covered with a cloak of brown, black and white feathers. She had soft brown hair and a kind face (Though Heero told him later that that was just one of her personalities) and wore an elegant, but light, blue cotton dress. The people knelt respectfully when they entered, the bubbly child waving happily as she shouted out the names of children she knew. Quatre helped Trowa get his legs in the correct position.

"King Treize and his consort Lady Une," he explained quietly. "And that's Mariemaia. She's been with us for a year. She just up and decided to go search for her father one day, and she found Treize. I don't know exactly how her parents met, but the king may tell you, if he likes."

Trowa nodded, though he didn't think that was likely. There was something intimidating about the man, though he seemed loved by his people. Especially when his eyes fell on Trowa. The merman had a nagging feeling the king didn't like him very much.

Treize approached their group first. "It's good to see you have returned home safely. I heard you had some trouble with my cousin," he addressed Quatre.

"Rumor travels fast. A bit, yes, but it worked out, your highness," he reassured him.

_Dorothy's cousin?_ Trowa looked him over. There wasn't much of a resemblance, though their eyebrows were almost the same, except for the fact that his were much less noticeable and not as menacing.

"Good." The man looked incredibly relieved. Trowa was to learn later that, though Treize loved his cousin dearly (and she returned him admiration and respect, if not love), she also drove him crazy.

As Treize and Quatre talked with Heero and Duo about their adventures, and Lady Une chatted amiably with Princess Relena and Hilde, the young princess was staring at him, her eyes wide.

"You're a merman, aren't you?" she asked softly, so that her father wouldn't hear. Since their reunion, he got upset when she would talk about the ocean and her old home, or see anyone associated with it. It seemed a miracle that Relena had been accepted by him so quickly (Though the fact that she wanted to be a human probably had something to do with that.).

"Yes," he replied; looking around to make sure no one was listening. Quatre caught his eye, but said nothing to them.

"Wow," she exclaimed in a whisper, and that was the end of it for the moment, as Treize finally turned his attention to Trowa.

"Quatre told me what you did for him, and what you were trying to do for Miss Relena. We owe you our gratitude and you are welcome in our home." His tone was diplomatic, but he eyed the merman warily. He would have to talk with Mariemaia later, Trowa decided.

"I thank you, your highness," he responded, shooting Quatre a grateful look.

"Quatre, may he stay with you while he is here?" the king asked, not commanded. "We don't want him to have to stay with Heero and Relena while they're on their honeymoon. It would be quite uncomfortable."

Quatre nodded, though he seemed somewhat uncomfortable himself. "Of course, your highness."

"Good," he said, and with that, his gaze softened a bit. "If I may put in a request, provided that your journey has not tired you, we'd like you to play for us. We've all missed your music."

Trowa grinned inwardly. Heero had been right; Quatre couldn't be an average musician if the king was asking for him.

"Oh, yes!" Mariemaia cried, clapping her hands in delight. If her father had been trying to keep her mind off Trowa, he had the right idea. "It's been so quiet without you," she added, her eyes sparkling with affection. It appeared that Dorothy was not the only one around who had a thing for Quatre. _Competition is fierce here_. The thought floated into Trowa's head and left him wondering where that had come from.

He didn't get a chance to sort it out, as the princess, the Sank Kingdom one, suddenly said, "Trowa, you play the flute, don't you? You and Quatre can play a duet. He plays beautifully," she told the monarchs. "I'll go get the instruments." After that rapid speech, the princess stood, curtsied, and scurried off down to the beach until she was out of sight. Trowa watched her run enviously, but with admiration.

"Wow, she got really good at this," he said to himself.

"Well, she's been practicing for half a month," Heero explained.

"Plus, she has extra motivation to send her running this time," Duo added, the naughty grin still on his face.

"Conspirators," Quatre muttered, giving him a look. Matchmakers, really, would've been the better word; if Trowa had been thinking sensibly, but at that point, he felt like everyone except Quatre was plotting against him, not maliciously, but still plotting against him.

"Oh, Duo, stop teasing the poor man," Hilde scolded from her place on the floor where she had started building a fire. But her smile told him that she didn't completely disapprove of what he was doing; though no one else could see it.

Relena skipped back to them in the next ten minutes or so, a violin and bow in one hand, a wooden flute in the other, which she distributed to Trowa and Quatre respectively. "Play!" she demanded, quite the authoritative princess when she wanted to be.

"Play what? We don't have any music," Trowa reminded her. "And I doubt that we know any of the same songs."

Quatre shrugged. "Then we'll just have to teach each other some new ones. I'll go first, you just follow along when you feel ready." He put the instrument under his chin and started playing a cheerful melody. Trowa tapped his feet along to the beat (another use for them) and then joined in, improvising on the song Quatre had begun. The other boy stopped himself to listen for a moment, before coming back. The two switched back and forth, complimenting each other perfectly. They ended in sync, and the whole town erupted into applause.

"Bravo," the queen said, "that was lovely!"

Treize chuckled. "Well, if you ever want to live here, I think you'll be welcome."

"Ooh, will you?" Mariemaia pleaded. "It'd be so much fun if you stayed here." It appeared her affections had shifted some in the past few minutes.

"I'm afraid not, princess," Trowa shook his head. "If I'm to restore our kingdom," he slipped with that "our", "I must return to the ocean."

"Oh, darn it!" she pouted. Her stepmother patted her shoulder.

"Now dear, he can always come back and visit," the queen said kindly. "But let's enjoy him now while we have him. Play us another song, please."

Trowa did as she asked, in the hope of cheering his distressed princess (technically his queen), playing a song that Relena recognized right away.

"I just love that musical ," she sighed happily, while her future husband groaned. Trowa didn't stop; quite absorbed in the music, though his eyes smiled when he heard a violin join in behind him. They continued to play, song after song, throughout the night, much to the delight of all who heard them.

"Wait a second," Trowa panted, nearly collapsing on the ground. "I need to stop for a minute."

"Are you all right?" Quatre asked, his forehead crinkled with worry.

"Yeah, I just need a quick rest," he reassured him. Quatre helped him sit and he took a sip from the canteen Relena had sent with them for the trip to Quatre's home. It was fresh water, and tasted funny to a person who was used to salt, but it refreshed him. He had refused to let Quatre help him, preferring to walk on his own now that he had almost gotten the hang of it.

"We're almost there," Quatre said, pointing up the hill they were on (It figured he didn't live on flat land like everyone else.). Trowa could see a small log cabin at the top. "I think you'll like it; although the climb is a doozy, the view is worth it."

"I'm sure I will," Trowa said, smiling at him warmly. He sniffed the air. "Something certainly smells familiar, in a good way, I mean. What is it?"

Quatre grinned secretively. "You'll see when we get there. Ready?" He offered the landlocked fish a hand up. Trowa pulled himself to his feet.

"Thanks," he said. His palm felt suddenly sweaty, though it hadn't for a second ago.

"No problem," Quatre replied casually. He suddenly realized that they were still holding hands and pulled his hand back. "Let's go. Race you to the top!" He sped up the hill, leaving Trowa confused and wondering what the heck had just happened.

"Here we are," Quatre sang out, apparently recovered from his brief mental breakdown. Trowa gasped. Stretched out before him was the ocean, a black mass within the darkness. He could see the shadow of a tall spiral tower in the distance. "That's where Dorothy lives," Quatre said, pointing at it. "She doesn't like to associate with the rest of us, so she built that there. You think walking up here was a pain, you should go up those stairs.

"What are stairs?" Trowa asked, his eyes not leaving the water. "I can see why you told me I'd like this."

"Hmm," Quatre murmured contentedly. "I could look at it forever. I can't live without seeing the ocean. I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world, isn't it?" Trowa nodded in agreement. Completely unconsciously, the two young men had edged closer to each other until they were almost touching. "But it may be that I think so because I'm a seagull," he added, somewhat spoiling the mood his first words had created. "I share some qualities with fish, but I'm not one. I'm just a human who happens to turn into a bird who likes the water." There seemed to be an underlying, wistful meaning behind his words, though Trowa paid no attention to it.

He pushed open the door. "Welcome to my home. It's really small," He said apologetically, "but it will have to do."

"No, it's fine," Trowa said, looking it over. Though it wasn't very big, it was awfully cozy, with a bearskin rug (that someone had given Quatre as a gift) and a twin-sized bed covered with woolen blankets, a thick quilt and feather stuffed pillows. "I like it," he said truthfully. He basked in the simplicity of it, though there seemed to be something missing.

"It must be lonely, living up here all by yourself," he commented without thinking.

Quatre shrugged. "A little, but I can handle it. And I visit the village a lot. It does get really cold here, though, especially at night," he added meaningfully.

"I can imagine," Trowa responded, oblivious to what the not so innocent after all youth was possibly suggesting.

"Sit, you must be tired. I'm sorry I don't have chairs," he said, motioning for Trowa to take a seat on the bed. He looked at it skeptically (It seemed awfully high.) and stayed put where he was. Quatre lit a candle that was on the windowsill, and dove under the bed, looking for something.

"I have to go somewhere in the morning, so sleep late okay? -Where on earth is my soap? - Duo will come here to bring you to the wedding in the afternoon, all right, and I'll meet you there."

Trowa nodded, though he couldn't see him, trying not to laugh at the funny picture Quatre made, half of his body sticking out, the other half covered. And trying not to blush from the view.

"What?" Quatre asked, emerging from the bed triumphantly, holding a bar of some hard white substance that had a picture of a dove on it (Apparently the Avians created that product). Trowa hid his face behind his hand.

"Nothing," he said through his muffled laughter. Quatre approached him, worriedly. Though his powers were pretty powerful, he'd warn them out that day, and that might have been the reason that he was getting mixed signals. Or, it could be that human beings are thick and once they get set on an idea, they believe it, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. "What's the matter? Are you upset about the wedding?"

Trowa looked up at him in surprise, the laughter knocked out of him. "No, why would I be?"

"Oh, well, I just thought that-" He mumbled something incoherently.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Well, it's just, I was worried that maybe you- that you were in love with Relena," he blurted out.

Trowa cracked up again, one of those rare occasions when he actually did so. "Where on earth would you get that idea?"

Quatre looked slightly hurt by his laughter. "Well, I heard you and your sister talking that one time-"

Trowa rolled his eyes. "That was just Cathy's delusions," he explained, sobering quickly. "I never told her about Middie, remember?"

"Yes, I know that," Quatre said defensively. "But you could've loved Relena too, and just been in denial about it. You might have repressed your feelings out of loyalty to Middie. If you want to, there's still time. She could change her mind. I'm sure that if you talk to Relena…"

Trowa put up a hand to stop him. "No, no, and no. I told you, I'll never fall in love with another woman again."

Quatre nodded. "I know. But I was afraid that you… I was wondering if…" He stumbled over his words and murmured something under his breath that Trowa couldn't hear.

"What was that?" Trowa complained, "Why is it that even when you speak my language I can't understand you?"

"I said," he repeated nervously, "Even though you said you'd never fall in love with a woman, would you- would you ever fall in love with another man?"

Trowa's jaw dropped. And suddenly, all the pieces fit together like a puzzle: the weird thoughts, the jealousy that he felt when Quatre was around Dorothy and Relena, and Quatre's own strange habits. _So that's what this was all about, _he said to himself. It made perfect sense now. "Well, I never really thought about it before," he began.

Quatre shook his head. "Forget I said anything. That was stupid of me." He turned away to gather some of his clothing.

Trowa frowned. He wasn't letting him get off easy. He grabbed his wrist, with more force than he meant to, and spun him around. "But," he continued, making sure Quatre (who was frozen in shock at that point) was listening, "I think I already have."  
"Wha-" Quatre began, but he was cut off when Trowa's lips pressed firmly against his. He gradually relaxed and returned the sign of affection for a moment before pulling away.

"What's wrong?" Trowa asked, afraid he'd been mistaken after all. "I thought you…"

"Yes, yes, but-" He held up the soap and the clothes, grinning awkwardly (though Trowa would've preferred the word "adorably"). "I've been trapped in my bird form for so long, that I haven't bathed in days. I'll be right back in a second, okay? Promise."

He hurried out the door, Trowa staring after him. And though it seemed a long time to the waiting, hormone-driven young man (who strangely wasn't turned off by that revelation), he really was in and out very quickly, and returned nearly out of breath, his hair wet and flat against his head. When he entered, Quatre finally realized something that he'd been too flustered to notice before.

"You're still standing? I told you to sit down an hour ago," he exaggerated.

Trowa shrugged sheepishly. "It's awfully high. I couldn't get up there. These new body parts confuse me. I don't know what half of them are used for."

Quatre said something unintelligible as he pulled down the covers so that they could finally get to sleep.

"Now what did you say?" he asked, slightly exasperated.  
"I said, 'I'll teach you what they're used for,'" he repeated, blushing furiously. "If anyone asks, don't tell them I said that." He helped Trowa into the bed and, blowing out the candle, curled up next to him under the covers.

To be concluded in the next chapter…

The musical that has been referred to repeatedly in this fic, is yes, a (made-up) theatrical version of Disney's The Little Mermaid.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: For the 13th and final time (in this story anyway) Gundam Wing does not belong to me.

Author's Note: The last chapter! ::sobs:: Despite my complaining for this past month as the deadline approached, I did have a lot of fun with this. A few thank yous, before I go on with this last chapter: Mephisto Waltz, the judge of this contest, whose mailbox I filled with chapter updates, thank you for bearing with me and you never have to hear from me again if you don't want to. Misanagi, for your frequent reviews, thank you, and thank you to anyone else who did it, I appreciate your feedback. To my friends, my parents and my history teacher (who probably aren't reading this) thank you for putting up with my octopus question, and not asking questions. And now on to the last chapter (and off to take a nap)!

A Fish Out of Water- Chapter Thirteen

When Trowa awoke the next morning just before noon, the other side of the bed was empty, but for a small stack of neatly folded clothing and a tray of bacon and toast. The merman sniffed this odd-looking food cautiously, and having no problems with the scent, gobbled it down. After breakfast, he read from the books he had brought until Duo arrived to take him to the wedding. 

All the huts were decorated with garlands of different colored flowers, greenery and strangely enough, seaweed (at Relena's request). A small altar had been set up with unlit candles, and five solemn old men in robes stood around it. 

"Those are the shamans," Duo explained. "They're kinda like priests, but they also have magic. J, G, S, H and O are their names. Odd guys. They're going to marry Heero and Relena." He said a hurried goodbye and rushed over to stand by the groom, leaving Trowa with Hilde, who had come to bring him to her hut, where Relena had stayed for the night. 

"I'm so glad you could give me away," the former sea princess said when she saw him. She was dressed all in white, wearing a silk dress with a shawl made of feathers (most likely Heero's). "I'd always imagined that my brother would do it, but-" She buried her face in Trowa's shoulder, crying tears of both happiness and sorrow. It was more than just the separation, they'd apparently had some falling out that he didn't know the reason for, and though it didn't cause Relena's disappearance, it was a part of it. "You'll tell him everything, won't you Trowa? About the wedding, and Heero and that I'm sorry for…" Her voice faltered and Trowa squeezed her tightly, feeling closer to her than he ever had before. 

"Of course," he replied, wiping the tears away from her face. "I promise I will. Cheer up." He smiled at her. "It's the least I can do. I owe you. If it weren't for you running off, none of this would've happened." 

"None of what?" she asked curiously. "What's happened?"

He grinned at her, glad that he finally had a secret to keep from her. "I'll tell you later. Maybe."

"It's show time, guys," Hilde called from where she'd been waiting outside. Taking each other's arms, with Trowa only leaning on her slightly for support, they walked out into the cheering crowd. If it hadn't been apparent before, Relena was as loved here as she was at home, and Trowa was finally convinced she was doing the right thing. If that hadn't done it, Heero's beaming smile would've. Trowa felt a strange kinship with the man, both were quiet and reserved by nature and experience, but love had brought them out of their shells. 

Trowa's own face lit up when he spotted Quatre near the altar, next to the royal family. But his eyes widened in shock when he saw who stood next to him: Dorothy, looking awfully serious and subdued. She saw Trowa and looked down guilty. But Trowa didn't glare at her as he might have before; in a way, he owed her just as much as he did Relena. He gave her a small wave before depositing the bride in the arms of her waiting groom and then went over to join them. 

"Hi," she greeted him softly, while Quatre squeezed his hand in an affectionate "hello". 

"I didn't expect to see you here," he said honestly. 

She nodded. "Quatre asked me to come. Relena invited me actually, and I didn't really want to come, but he needed help with- things- so he brought me back with him." She didn't say anything more, after a silencing glance from Quatre, who smiled at him mysteriously. 

"We'll tell you later," he said, by way of explanation. It was the one thing that Trowa, after so many mysteries already, so did not want to hear. 

* * * * * *

Throughout the entire ceremony, Trowa fidgeted. He couldn't wait for the magical rites that, not only married the couple, but also had included Relena's transformation into a full human, to end. It wasn't as spectacular as he'd expected, being that she was human already. But it was deemed a success when, at the reception held on the beach, the princess daringly dipped her lower body into the water (careful not to spoil her dress) and nothing occurred, to the delighted cheers of the guests. After stuffing their faces with all the seafood they could eat, Trowa pulled his lover and the sorceress aside. 

"What's going on?" he demanded, his curiosity so great that he couldn't contain himself. He was too busy grilling them to notice a small redhead had slipped under the table to hear their conversation. 

"Well, Quatre began slowly, partly teasing, partly making sure Trowa was ready for this news, "we found out what happened to your old kingdom."

Trowa nearly dropped the glass of champagne he was holding (not drinking) when he heard this announcement. "What? When? How?"

Quatre glanced at Dorothy to explain. "Well, you see, the reason Heero had been sent out in the first place was that we discovered that there was a good chance of a volcanic eruption, based on the data of a device that we have here. By the time he got there, it was too late, though he found some survivors (who fled the moment they saw him). Quatre knew of this, and from your description, he determined that that must've been how it was destroyed. That was where we were all morning, checking the place out. The volcano's dormant now (meaning it's not going to erupt for a long time). You wouldn't recognize the place; the cooled lava formed a brand-new island. But it's perfectly safe to inhabit, provided that we give you one of our prediction devices." 

Trowa looked at her in disbelief. "What does this mean?"

"It means that you can go home," Quatre said, looking suddenly sad. "To your real home, Trowa, not just Relena's kingdom."

"Ow!" A yelp alerted all of the to the young princess's presence. She had been so startled apparently that she hit her head on the table. 

"You shouldn't eavesdrop," Quatre told her gently. "I hope your father's not looking for you."  
She shook her head. "No, I made sure he wasn't. He's still enjoying the party. Does this mean you're going back to our kingdom?" she asked hopefully. "I remember you," she added, as an explanation of how she knew that. (And also her father had gently told her of what had happened to her family.)

Trowa nodded. "Yes, your highness. Your kingdom, if you take what is rightfully yours."

She thought for a moment, with more seriousness than a girl her age should have. "No," she said finally, "I think I'm hardly fit to rule an underwater kingdom. Besides, father needs me. I'm his heir now. I humbly abdicate in favor of you, Trowa Barton," she said, formal throughout her speech. Then she giggled. "You'd better do a good job, or I'll come after you," she mock threatened. 

Trowa bowed to her solemnly. "As you wish, your majesty."

She shook her head again. "No, as _you_ wish, your majesty."

* * * * * * 

Thanks to Dorothy's magic, which produced a speedy little boat, the two made it to the kingdom in record time. The sorceress had declined their offer of accompanying them, saying she had better things to do. What she really meant was that she had intruded on their relationship enough already, and wouldn't do so anymore.

Trowa felt strange being back in the water again, especially there. Quatre, who had traveled in his seagull form part of the way to find the island they had mentioned was perched on it, his lower legs in the water as Trowa surveyed his kingdom. It was a mess, yes, but they could work on it. Catherine, who they had run into on the way (with a grumpy captain and healer in tow) was back in the Sank Kingdom, asking for supplies and delivering news to the prince, his wife and their new merbabies, who had just hatched that morning. They had made much faster time, traveling on the army's trained dolphins. After giving her brother an earful for worrying her so much, she had reluctantly parted, saying she'd meet them later. All throughout their conversation she'd been shooting confused looks at Quatre that said, "Do I know you?" Though curiosity was killing Cat, she accepted it and said she would bring Prince Milliardo, Noin and the babies to visit his sister and get her story first. Trowa was glad of it; it would give him some more time alone with Quatre, who had been strangely quiet through most of the trip.

"What's the matter?" Trowa asked when he came up to the surface, preening his lover as he so often did to him. 

Quatre smiled slightly at the gesture. "It's nothing," he lied, but Trowa wasn't going to let him get away with that. 

"Yes, there is something," he said seriously, "and I don't need to be an empath like you to know it. Tell me."

"It's selfish," he warned, then sighed. "I was wondering about what's going to happen to us, now that you're finally going home."

Trowa narrowed his eyes at him in confusion. "What do you mean, 'what's going to happen'?"

"Well, you heard what Dorothy said. 'A bird may love a fish, but where can they build a nest?' Even though she said it to be mean, it's the truth. I can't live underwater, and you can't do what Miss Relena did. Your kingdom needs you."

Trowa frowned. "That is a difficult problem," he admitted, one he had indeed agonized over the night before while Quatre was asleep. But as he watched Relena and Heero, a fish and a bird, respectively, getting married, he realized there was hope. And coming there that day had given him an idea. 

Trowa propped himself up on his elbows; his head rested on his hands. He ran his fingers over the rocky, but mostly flat dirt. "Quatre?" he asked. "Is this land bigger than your house?"

Quatre looked around him. "Yeah, not by that much, but yes, it is."  
"Hmm," the merman murmured, tapping his chin thoughtfully. 

"What? What are you thinking about?" Trowa pulled himself up next to him; his fins still submerged in the water. 

"Oh, I was just thinking, someone could build a house up here," he commented. "You know, if they wanted to."

"Who would want to do that?" Quatre started to ask, and then his eyes lit up. "Hey, that is a good idea!"

Trowa grinned. "It'll be perfect. I doubt that machine of yours can work underwater. And your people have a lot of stuff that can help us. You could be a liaison between the two peoples. We'll have the first merpeople-Avian trading post."

Quatre nodded excitedly. "Yes, and it's a lot closer than the Sank Kingdom is. It'll only take a day to get there flying. And you can come see me whenever you want if I live there." Then his face fell. "But wait. You're the prince now. There are certain responsibilities that go with that. Responsibilities that require you to be with a woman."  
Trowa shook his head. "Yes, but it can work out. Some human queen once, I remember, was never married and had no children, but they didn't have too much difficulty after she died. And besides, it'll be easier for me because I have Cathy, and all her siblings were childless and dead. Her children can be my heirs. We'll just have to find a bunch of mermen to parade in front of her until she picks one. I'm sure that there are plenty of good-looking survivors, or people who just want to move that she can choose from. It'll be fun; she's tried to set me up often enough, shouldn't I return the favor?" Quatre cracked up. "Don't laugh, see if I don't do that." He wrapped his arms around the young man. "See, I told you we could work it out," he said, kissing him gently. 

Quatre sighed contentedly. "Yeah, I guess so." He relaxed in Trowa's hold, determined to simply enjoy the afternoon sun and not worry anymore (for the day, anyway). 

* * * * * *

So, in the end, they all lived happily ever after, with the occasional lover's spat and bad day, of course. After a brief, but loud argument, Relena and her brother finally reconciled their differences and made up (Though he nearly challenged Heero to a duel for allegedly kidnapping his sister first). The prince also got to visit with his old friend Treize, who was very glad to see him indeed (That had been the reason, Trowa learned, why he'd been so accepting of Relena in the first place). Relena got to meet her nieces and nephews, who were constantly keeping their mother busy, and made them all promise to visit after their trip. Duo and Hilde kept the newlyweds' house while they were away, and were expecting a brood of their own in the next few months. Dorothy visited both the Avian village and Trowa's kingdom often, and to their surprise, the people actually started to like her. Mariemaia, who she began teaching sorcery, was especially fond of her cousin. The half-mermaid later proved to be as beloved a ruler as her father, grandfather and adopted uncle were. Sally and Wufei had taken a page out of Milliardo and Noin's book and decide to start a family as well (meaning Sally had decided and Wufei didn't argue). Trowa had made good on his threat and provided Catherine with an array of handsome suitors, who she rejected one by one in favor of the somewhat ugly royal entertainer whom they had known since childhood. He had survived for the same reason that Catherine had: a romantic getaway that was masqueraded as a visit to friends. Trowa had not been the only one seeing someone secretly, apparently. He expected that they'd be the next expectant parents in a few months, maybe even before Heero and Relena. And, as for Trowa and Quatre, they were building their own little nest in the exact same spot Trowa had pointed out. For, they had discovered not where a bird and a fish could build a nest, but how. It was quite simple actually, and the essential element of any relationship, same species or not, which could be summed up in a single word: compromise. 

The End


End file.
